Apply Some Pressure
by QuoteMyFoot
Summary: Superhero AU. Charlotte is a professional hero in Hoshido with best friend Benny. Events lead her to team up with Saizo, Prince Ryoma's right hand man, for an undercover mission to find the "Black Bomber", who is selling a powerful new black-market explosive. She and Saizo turn out to make a good team - but will their partnership be enough to foil a plot against the royal family?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I borrowed from the _My Hero Academia_ setting so I wouldn't have to worldbuild, and ended up doing a lot of worldbuilding anyway. Oops. I think most of the MHA influence should be understandable from context, but just in case, in MHA superpowers are referred to as "quirks" and most of the population has one; professional heroes work out of Hero Agencies and have their own personalised costumes and so on. I recommend the manga/anime if you like superheroes, it's tons of fun.

My eternal thanks to Pixelsaber, TheSaintRyan, and ArcAngelofJustice, who did such amazing work as betas for this piece.

* * *

When they were called to downtown after some kind of explosion, Charlotte was fairly sure she knew what to expect. Panicked civilians, first aid stations, other professional heroes saving the day—

But it wasn't quite right. Most of the panicked civilians weren't dressed in the right clothes to be working in the business district, and mainly seemed to be passers by. Charlotte spotted several heroes, obvious by their various distinctive costumes, but their main role seemed to be helping the police set up a safety zone; she couldn't see anyone approaching the glass tower, which was smoking and had an entire chunk of the building missing about half way up.

Benny flagged down an officer to find out what was going on.

"Who are you guys again?" she said. "I'm sorry, so many people got called in, or just came anyway—"

"Knight and Maiden." Charlotte indicated Benny and then herself whilst the officer made a note. "What's going on? We were supposed to come help with the evacuation."

The officer was grim-faced. "The bombers took out a huge chunk of the building, but also some structurally important parts with smaller charges. It could come down at any minute and we're not supposed to let people inside, so we've been focussing on getting people out of the surrounding buildings. Some heroes went up there anyway, but things have been such a mess down here, we don't have a way to contact them."

Charlotte glanced at Benny. He was looking in the direction of the smoking glass tower. _Well, I know what he wants to do._ "We're going up, too."

Despite what she said about the building being off limits, the officer didn't seem inclined to stop them. Her shoulders slumped in relief. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Don't worry," Charlotte gave the officer her best 'reassuring the public' smile. "We're tougher than we look."

The officer unclipped something from her belt. "Here, take my radio." She smiled. "Good luck."

Inside, the lower floors were eerily deserted. Anyone who had been this low down had probably found their own way out. They went for the staircase, taking them two at a time. In the black armour that passed as Benny's costume, he was soon puffing several paces behind Charlotte.

She stopped to wait for him at the top of the 10th floor, but he waved her on. "People might need help," he said.

Personally, Charlotte was more worried about losing Benny in the chaos if the building _did_ collapse, but when he frowned at her, she gave in and carried on.

On the fifteenth floor, Charlotte ran into the gap in the wall. The first sign was a telltale breeze from outside, carrying the stench of smoke. Maybe this was where everyone was? She opened the stairwell door and stopped.

The missing part of the building had looked large enough from outside, but she'd still severely underestimated just how much damage there was. She could see three, no, _four_ floors up because the ceilings had just been obliterated. All the glass in the windows was missing, and some of the metal looked like it was beginning to buckle. Charlotte thought queasily of how much damage would be done if the building fell - all thirty stories of it.

 _What kind of bomb did this much damage?_

"Is someone else down there?" a voice called.

Charlotte looked up to see a head peering over the gap. Another hero, judging by his blue patterned costume.

"Oh, some backup!" he said. "We've got over a hundred people to evacuate up here and it's going slow."

"I'll be right there," Charlotte called.

Getting up two more floors wasn't as easy as Charlotte envisaged, as she had to climb over rubble and some pieces of concrete large enough that she had to pick them up and move them. The stairs above her were even more of a mess - gods only knew how they'd managed to get the civilians down this far, even.

When she left the stairs, she found the seventeenth floor mostly gone. The civilians were having to hang on to the wall like a cliff face, edging along the tiny bit of flooring left clinging to it, which was shorter than the length of Charlotte's foot.

Wait, no - one of the heroes was levitating someone across the gap. But it seemed like he could only do one person at a time, and judging by the sweat rolling down his face, even that was an enormous effort.

The blue hero who'd spoken to Charlotte ushered the first two civilians towards the stairs, but there was a large, anxious crowd filling the other half of the room. Getting them all out to safety would take hours at this rate.

"Have you got a quirk that could help?" Blue asked Charlotte. "We were getting desperate, so we asked the civilians, but the only useful one was a weak reinforcement quirk." He kept his voice steady, probably not to cause a panic amongst the workers, but she noticed the tension in his jaw. "At least the floor isn't going to collapse on us, I suppose."

Well, she could _throw_ people across the gap, but that would cause injuries, which might ultimately slow them down more - if the civilians would even agree to being thrown about in the first place. What they really needed was a way to fix the floor, get more people across and more quickly…

 _Oh, that's an idea._

"I can't help," she said, "but my partner can. I'll be back soon."

Blue glanced back over the rest of the civilians and frowned. " _Hurry._ "

Rather than taking the stairs again, Charlotte simply dropped into the gap and landed back on the fifteenth floor. Somebody shrieked. _Maybe I should've warned them about that._

Benny wasn't that far behind anymore, the thirteenth floor. He blinked at Charlotte when she appeared in the stairway.

She smiled at him. "I've got a job for you!"

And then she picked him up and put him over her shoulder. Benny squeaked as she started back up the stairs as fast as she could.

At the seventeenth floor, everyone baulked at the sight of her carrying Benny, who was twice her size. Charlotte waggled her fingers at them. It was a little inappropriate for the situation, but she couldn't resist - she never got tired of seeing people's surprise at someone in such a feminine costume who was absurdly strong. "Super strength quirk."

Blue blinked, then shrugged. "Makes sense. This is your partner?"

Charlotte nodded. "I thought you could use your barriers as a makeshift floor," she said to Benny.

His eyes lit up in understanding and he held his hand out in the direction of the missing floor.

Blue looked at the gap, frowning.

"...It's invisible," Benny said.

Charlotte was so used to his barriers, she hadn't thought of how weird they would be to other people. "Where does it end?"

Benny indicated with his arm, and she confidently strode across. There was still enough room for three people to walk abreast. It was a little strange to appear to have only thin air under her feet, but she hid her unease. "Knight's barriers can hold the weight of several cars," she called to the civilians, "so no need to worry about walking across it."

They were nervous at first, but at the urging of the other heroes, the workers started to cross the barrier. After seeing nothing happen to the first set, the rest were more confident, and soon they were streaming across the divide, being led downstairs by the other heroes.

 _We'll definitely get some coverage for this,_ Charlotte thought gleefully. _Maybe they'll even mention us on TV?_ She felt like she ought to be handing out business cards but that would _definitely_ be inappropriate.

Benny and Charlotte brought up the rear of the anxious procession as they went back down the stairs.

When they hit the ground floor, though, the building started to groan ominously. There were still at least a dozen or more people left inside.

"Get in the stairwell!" Benny shouted.

The groaning turned into a roar that covered any reply as everything began to shake. There was a deafening crash and a screech that went right through Charlotte. She barely kept her feet as debris rained down on them, held a few inches above their heads by Benny's barrier.

It seemed to go on for a long time, but eventually it stopped. Charlotte hardly dared to breathe, listening to the sound of rubble settling around them. A bead of sweat ran down the side of Benny's face.

The radio crackled suddenly, making everyone jump. Charlotte had nearly forgotten about it.

"Is everyone okay in there?" a staticky voice said. "Where are you?"

"The ground floor stairwell," Charlotte replied. Somehow, she'd gotten a thick layer of dust in her mouth. _Gross._

There was an audible sigh of relief over the radio. "That's the opposite side to the main point of collapse! We can get you out in less an hour. Just hang in there."

Charlotte looked at Benny's clenched jaw and the rubble piled high above them. "We might not have that much time. I'm going to try to break us out."

The person on the other end started to say something, but Charlotte didn't hear it as she handed the radio off to Blue. He nearly dropped it.

"You think you can punch through that?" he said.

Charlotte cracked her knuckles. "Sure!" she replied confidently, although she'd never broken through something as thick as a building before. But how hard could it be?

The wall opposite was solid concrete. The first punch sent spiderweb-like cracks running through it. After the second, a few shards flew off it.

Benny wheezed suddenly and everyone was forced to crouch as he staggered and fell to his knees.

"Cover your eyes," Charlotte suggested.

She started to kick at the wall instead, ignoring the cuts on her legs from the concrete shards. _Come on, you stupid wall!_

Then finally her foot went straight _through_ and it was only a minute's work to make the hole wide enough for people to crawl through. "Go, go!"

It was a tight squeeze for most of them, except for Blue, who shrank down to the size of a child to crawl through before returning to normal size. _What a weird quirk._

At last, there was only her and Benny left. She kicked away more concrete, making the hole large enough for him to get through, armour and all. He waved for her to go first. The paramedics were already milling around the civilians outside, which meant Charlotte could safely ignore them and keep watching Benny.

She wasn't sure if the barrier was going to break first or if he was. His arm was shaking, which was a sign that he was having difficulty maintaining the barrier. Charlotte bit her lip. She couldn't wait anymore and grabbed Benny, hauling him out into the sunshine with the sounds of the debris crumbling behind them.

Charlotte took a deep breath and immediately choked on a mouthful of dust. She looked down to see that she was absolutely covered in the stuff. Her hair was probably caked in it too. Ugh, that was going to be such a pain to get out. Still, she felt pretty accomplished. She grinned at Benny. "We did pretty well, don't you think? This should definitely get us noticed."

Benny was still trying to get his breath back. "If you say so." But he smiled. "We did help a lot."

* * *

Unfortunately, after that evacuation, things went back to normal. Charlotte walked into the office every day a little less optimistic.

Beruka nodded to Charlotte as she entered. Benny was already there, sitting at his desk. "How was patrol this morning?"

He swallowed a bite of cereal bar. "I rescued a cat and her kittens?"

Charlotte sat at her desk heavily. It was more exciting than the 'nothing to report' of the last few weeks, but she'd been hoping for more after their important role in the evacuation. Blue even named them in an interview! But with another bombing only a week later, at a school no less, people stopped talking about the bombing downtown - with few deaths and injuries thanks to the professional heroes on the scene, it was just too boring to hold the media's interest. Charlotte knew the downsides to being boring and safe, but it was still disappointing.

"Did you hear anything new about the burglary gang?" she asked hopefully.

Benny shook his head. "Not today, but I noticed there's a store with a sale that ends on Saturday… I talked to the owner, he says they've been busy."

 _Now that's more like it!_ Charlotte grabbed their diary and started making notes to rearrange their patrols. These particular thieves normally struck in the early hours of the morning, so they both had to be ready to nab them if they struck later in the week. Charlotte and Benny had spent the last few weeks studying the burglars' MO. They'd stuck pretty religiously to the old textile district where the Knight and Maiden Agency was based, so there was no way they'd pass up the chance for an extra-large haul.

She hoped stopping them could be their gateway into better contracts, being asked to do missions with some of the higher ranked heroes… sure, bringing in one small burglary ring wasn't all that special, but it would be enough to get them some attention, and then Charlotte could work on doing what she did best - _keeping_ attention on her. Well, and Benny, but he didn't care for the spotlight…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a mewling noise.

Charlotte looked up from the diary with narrowed eyes. "Benny… did you _keep_ the kittens?"

"It's only temporary," he said, bringing a large cardboard box out from under his desk. Three kittens were already trying to climb out of the box, their tiny, fluffy tails springing to attention at the sight of Benny.

The mother cat, all black, reclined in the box. She looked at Charlotte for a moment and then dismissed her with a twitch of her whiskers. Benny began to stroke her head, and the cat purred loudly.

"How temporary?" Charlotte asked.

It was cute how much animals of any size adored Benny, but there were _six_ fluffy little heads poking out of that box, plus the mother, and cats were expensive.

Benny smiled vaguely as a ginger kitten tried to pounce on his hand. "I called an animal shelter, but they don't open until later."

"You didn't have to bring them to the _office..._ "

But that was when Benny picked up the ginger kitten, only to have it climb up his arm, sit on his shoulder, and start purring. He smiled and tickled it with one enormous finger.

Charlotte's objections died in her throat. _Ugh, too cute._ "Fine, we can take them to the shelter together later." She perked up. "We'll take photos! Social media _loves_ kittens, and I'm sure the shelter wouldn't object to more publicity."

"Uh huh," Benny said. There were now three kittens on his shoulders and a fourth scaling his chest. The last two kittens looked ready to pounce. He was totally dead to anything other than the cute. Charlotte couldn't really blame him. The ginger one was now batting Benny's ear with a tiny, white paw.

She snapped a picture for later. Might as well make the most of how adorable they all were.

Charlotte had a few hours to take more cute photos before they had to deliver the kittens to the animal shelter. The social media response was great - it got shared twice as much as any of their previous posts. It was almost worth the identical heartbroken expressions on Benny _and_ the kittens when they'd had to be separated. Poor Benny. She would've suggested that they adopt one, but they just didn't have the time to care for a pet; they both worked long hours at the agency. Maybe when they were more successful.

It made Charlotte more motivated to try cracking this serial burglar case, but there was precious little to go on.

"This police report on the gang's quirks," she said, wrinkling her nose, "totally useless! 'It might be an EMP Quirk that disables the cameras, or some sort of device that replicates that affect.' Just say you don't know, assholes!"

"There wasn't much to go on," Benny said.

He always gave people the benefit of the doubt. Charlotte suspected that the police simply didn't care enough about a small-time burglary ring when they had their hands full coordinating security for Prince Ryoma's coronation in two months' time.

Benny touched her shoulder gently. Charlotte realised she'd been gripping the desk so hard that she'd warped the metal. _Dammit. I already broke that wooden one last month._

"...If you're worried, I can try asking Mozu to send us everything they have?"

It might not do much good, since neither of them were experts in analysis, but at least they'd know they'd failed on their own merits. She sighed. "I guess it would be better than nothing. I'll call Rinkah too."

Charlotte had been hoping they could handle this one by themselves - it would be their first solo bust, a big deal for a new agency - but with at least five unknown quirks, it was too much of a risk for just the two of them.

Benny's face fell. "She's scary."

She rolled her eyes. You'd think, being 6'6", with shoulders wider than many doorways and impressive facial scars to boot, that Benny would have a little more self-awareness about describing _other_ people as scary. Of course when you actually knew him, Benny was about as scary as a daisy. But Rinkah herself was basically just a socially awkward grouch. Not scary at all.

* * *

The Oni was the up-and-coming star of the Flame Tribe Agency, run by one of the oldest quirk-using families in existence. Going all in on the theme, they only took people with fire- and heat-related quirks, family or no.

Charlotte wasn't expecting the Oni to show up in person, and was taken aback at the sight of the dramatic demon mask. Benny tried to hide behind his computer and look busy. It was a bad attempt, both because he was so enormous and because Rinkah knew them well enough they only used Benny's computer to watch nature documentaries during their downtime.

Rinkah removed the mask, revealing a small smirk. "You called?"

"Yes," Charlotte said. "I was hoping you would _call_ back."

"I was in the area." Rinkah grabbed a chair on the other side of Charlotte's desk and collapsed into it.

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. Benny poked his head out from behind his monitor.

"This isn't your usual beat," she said. "Anything we need to be concerned about?"

"Probably." Rinkah rubbed her face. "Ugh. It's been such a long month. Could I get some coffee?"

Benny rose and made for their tiny kitchenette. "We only have instant," he said apologetically.

Rinkah just stared at him. "I don't care if it's _poison._ If it's got caffeine in it, I'll drink it."

He backed away slowly. "Uh, sure."

"Why are you here, Rinkah?" Charlotte pressed

"Short version, your burglars might be connected to the Black Bomber."

"The office building?" Benny said, poking his head out of the kitchen.

Rinkah nodded. "And the Izumo embassy and the school."

The thought of a secret connection to a really big case was exciting, but it sounded too good to be true to Charlotte. "I thought the word was that they weren't connected? The Black Bomber is just a media invention?"

"Well, sort of. Different motives, methods, organisations behind each bombing… except for one thing. The same explosive. High grade stuff that we haven't seen before."

Charlotte tensed and exchanged a look with Benny. When new technology became an issue, Nohr was usually involved somehow. A government-sponsored weapon that was 'leaked'. A Nohrian company getting too aggressive with their Hoshidan competition that President Garon just _happened_ to have shares in...

They might officially have been at peace, but relations were still tense. Prince Ryoma and the President's eldest son, Xander, had been trying to encourage more cooperation, to increase trust and make the peace more meaningful. It was working, sort of - Charlotte and Benny had only been glared at a few times since coming to Hoshido. But it was hard to make significant progress when one party was determined to sabotage all efforts.

"Okay, so… how is this connected to our serial burglars?" Charlotte asked.

Benny put a mug of coffee down in front of Rinkah, backing away as though she might bite him. She just gave him an exasperated look before downing the whole thing in one go. Benny watched in horrified fascination.

"Thanks," Rinkah said. "Anyway. The ninjas think this 'Black Bomber' is selling this explosive on the black market for cheap. Not sure why they're practically giving the stuff away, but the price still runs into thousands of geld."

Charlotte started to catch on. "And this area isn't exactly the usual haunt of serial burglars. But if you know the area well and need to make cash quickly, then…"

"Exactly." Rinkah grimaced. "It's not a definite thing, but the ninjas are understandably on edge. Plus, they've run out of leads, so they're getting a bit desperate."

Benny frowned. "Who are 'the ninjas'?"

"Saizo V and Sting."

"...They work with Prince Ryoma."

Also known as the nation's most successful and beloved professional hero, Raijinto. Charlotte's mind was racing. She'd assumed that Rinkah would end up getting most of the attention if she and Benny asked for her help. That was just how it worked; she was already somewhat famous - way better for getting clicks than two foreign heroes who hadn't even been operating for half a year.

Two foreign heroes assisting the soon-to-be-King on his last case? Now _that_ was a different story. Anyone involved would get an enormous amount of media attention. This really could be their big break.

Charlotte cackled, making Rinkah look at her in alarm.

"Of _course,_ " Charlotte said sweetly. "We'll do everything we can to help our _dear_ Prince."

"What is wrong with her?" Rinkah whispered to Benny.

He just sighed.

* * *

Rinkah eventually suggested that Raijinto should come to the Knight and Maiden Agency to help investigate the burglars. Charlotte drove Benny mad scrubbing every visible surface in the office until Beruka, who pulled double duty as their secretary _and_ their security guard, suggested the smell of bleach and furniture polish might give the prince a headache and asked if that was Charlotte's intention. If _Beruka_ thought you were in danger of a social faux pas, it was definitely time to reign it in a little bit.

She made sure they were stocked with some high quality traditional teas that she'd heard Prince Ryoma liked. In honesty, she doubted that he would take tea in a strange place, but it left a good impression to be able to offer the expensive brands.

It was quite exhausting on top of her usual patrols. Benny offered to take some of hers on if she was so determined to get the office in perfect shape, but it wouldn't do to arrange everything for the prince only to lose all the goodwill she'd built up with the local businesses as a regular and a protector.

The last thing she had to do was to make sure their costumes were in top shape. They hadn't seen much serious action and the few minor tears to Charlotte's costume were ones she could mend herself. She tried to pound out the dents in Benny's armour, too, but he said he liked the character they gave his costume, which was otherwise pretty plain. He wouldn't even let her polish it, no matter how much she nagged him.

So by the time Saturday rolled around, Charlotte was exhausted.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Benny asked.

"Why?" She looked in the mirror and poked at her powder-covered cheek. "I don't look tired, do I?"

"You look nice, but that's not what I meant." He frowned. "What if we have to fight? Will you be okay?"

Charlotte always appreciated hearing compliments from Benny. She could be sure he meant them without ulterior motives being involved. She patted his arm. "Don't worry, Benny, this morning is just a strategy meeting. I'll nap before there's a possibility we'll get into trouble."

His scowl relaxed only a little.

She tried a different tactic. "Look, if we get a good review from the Crown Prince, we'll _rake_ it in. We'll be able to expand! We can hire some junior heroes, get more admin staff so we can focus on real work…"

Benny's shoulders slumped. "I guess you're right."

Poor Benny. He was basically the perfect hero, apart from lacking any business sense whatsoever. Luckily, he had Charlotte for that. "It'll all work out," she promised. "Hey, and then we could get a cat! All the best agencies have a mascot."

He brightened at that. "But we should make sure we get one that produces less dander. You know, for people with allergies."

Charlotte had no idea what 'dander' had to do with allergies, but she absolutely trusted Benny's judgement when it came to cute animals _and_ safeguarding people. She smiled and nodded. "Sure."

* * *

 **A/N:** This was originally written for the Het Big Bang, so if you desperately want to skip ahead, the full story is already up on AO3 under the same name. Otherwise, look out for the next chapter in a week.

This was my first serious attempt at a romance fic, so I welcome any feedback and constructive criticism.


	2. Chapter 2

"Your majesty, is this really wise? I ran a background check on these people and they seem… unreliable."

Ryoma looked exasperated. "Saizo, didn't I tell you a background check wasn't necessary?"

"The Oni has no reason to be invested in your safety," Saizo grumbled. "I don't see why we should trust her judgement."

The prince sighed. "At least be less formal when we're not in public."

Saizo glanced around pointedly. The street wasn't busy, but there was a bakery and a restaurant with open-air seating. People stared and took pictures as the two of them passed. "We _are_ in public."

"You know what I mean, Saizo."

Saizo did know, but it seemed inappropriate. In a month, Ryoma would be king, and whilst the position had not wielded executive power for a century, it was still influential.

"Regardless, this Knight and Maiden seem unreliable. Their track record is—"

"They've only been in Hoshido for a few months; give them time."

Saizo stopped, and had to take a few hurried steps to catch back up to Ryoma " _You_ looked into them?"

"I asked Rinkah, if that's what you mean."

Saizo frowned at him, even though Ryoma couldn't see it under his mask. They had gone out in full costume, despite it making them both absurdly recognisable - Ryoma's red rmour, reminiscent of samurai; and everything about Saizo's outfit screamed 'I am sneaky'. Which was the point, of course, as it was meant to be worn in concert with Kagero _out_ of costume - so he could be conspicuous whilst she did the undercover work.

Wearing it without Kagero's backup in the crowd simply made him nervous, however.

"We're here," Ryoma said.

Saizo inclined his head, acknowledging his distraction.

The Oni was already waiting for them, although her mask was pushed up from her face. "Good. Ch— ...Maiden's been looking over the police reports. Come on."

No mention of Knight. How strange. All his research seemed to suggest Maiden was a shallow thinker who relied on her good quirk and fluttering her eyelashes in order to get by. Saizo thought she did the social media management, perhaps. Maybe she was more reliable than she appeared. It would be a relief to think the Oni saw something in Maiden other than the ability to punch things really hard. Power was nothing without some finesse to direct it.

The Knight and Maiden Agency had a secretary, which seemed wasteful. The reception itself was an extremely tiny room, barely large enough for the desk the woman sat behind. It was partitioned from what Saizo assumed was the main room by a thin wall that had been recently installed, judging by the lack of scuff marks.

The secretary was a young woman with pale blue hair, cut short and tied back to keep it out of her eyes. She looked over all three of them with no change in expression. "Name and contact number in the visitor's log, please."

Saizo raised an eyebrow. "...Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"I will if you sign the visitor's log."

Ryoma's lips thinned, suppressing a smile. Saizo was less amused. Security precautions were all well and good, if they actually kept the building _secure._ A visitor's log was not a security measure, it was an annoyance, wasting yet more time on this wild goose chase—

The door burst open, banging against the wall.

"Beruka!" Maiden said, with an obviously fake smile. "Now is not the time to mess with our guests! Please excuse our assistant, your majesty."

Maiden was already in full costume. Not that there was much _to_ the costume, which was basically a stylised sports bra, a short skirt of some flimsy material, polished shin guards, and an faux ermine fur cape that came down to her elbows. It was amazing what you could get away with when your super strength quirk also boosted your overall endurance.

It also made it difficult to know where to look.

Saizo had the pleasure of thinking 'I told you so' when Ryoma blinked at Maiden's appearance. He mastered himself after a moment. "That is quite alright, I understand that precautions are necessary. Shall we start?"

Maiden's smile widened as she stepped aside to let them in. Her eyes slid over Saizo as though he wasn't there. Once in the office, the Oni tried to get her attention. Maiden pretended not to notice.

The office itself was… neat, he supposed. Everything was filed away in clearly labelled folders on the shelves around the room. The kitchen area was small but immaculate. Saizo's nose wrinkled at the smell of furniture polish. It was a strong contrast to the Royal Agency, which was organised chaos at the best of time. They were just too busy to store everything away in colour-coded files. It was a mad scramble sometimes to get the paperwork finished at all.

Granted, a new agency of this size would probably not have as many clients as Prince Ryoma's agency, but Saizo was still sure that time could've been put to better use.

He stood near Maiden whilst she was busy offering an excessive choice of refreshments. He saw some stitchwork on the skirt, barely noticeable. He was surprised at the quality of the work, which was nearly to the standards of the professional hero support offices which repaired costumes as part of their work - maybe he had underestimated Maiden after all. It was was an admirable skill, saving the money and time it would cost to send it to the support company for repairs. But Saizo couldn't help but notice Knight's armour, propped up against a desk (probably because the warm weather made it impractical to wear). It was dented, scratched, and not even polished like Maiden's shin guards.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder in a way which drew attention to her chest. Saizo was pretty sure he'd seen Kagero do the exact same manoeuvre whilst undercover. But _Kagero_ certainly didn't waste her manipulations on trying to make friends with celebrities at the cost of the real investigation.

The Oni was talking to Knight on the other side of the room. It _was_ odd to see her cite Maiden, specifically, when Saizo was pretty sure Knight was the real powerhouse at this agency. Not that Maiden's skillset was useless, but it matched poorly with her quirk.

"Can we get started already?" the Oni said. "Oh, and can I get a jasmine tea?"

Knight was part-way to the kitchen when he stopped and turned to look at her suspiciously. "...You're not going to drink it all in one go again, are you? This stuff is expensive."

"Again?" Ryoma said.

Oni crossed her arms, flushing. "Instant coffee is terrible. And _no,_ " she added to Knight, "I'm not going to down _tea_. What kind of person do you think I am?"

Knight held up his hands placatingly. "I was just asking!"

 _This is such a waste of time,_ Saizo thought. "Let's get on with it," he said.

Maiden seemed disappointed. It may have been wishful thinking, but Saizo thought the prince breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes. Maiden and Knight, what can you tell us about the suspects?"

To Saizo's surprise, Knight seemed to defer to Maiden, looking at her without realising anyone's eyes were on him.

Maiden cleared her throat. "Unfortunately we don't know a lot." Her voice was pitched just the slightest bit lower, in what Saizo assumed was her normal speaking voice. It was much more attractive _without_ the obvious attempt at ingratiating herself; Saizo couldn't help but think she'd missed something there. "The security cameras always go down, so we have no footage, and it's uncertain if it's an EMP-like device or a quirk. I sent Rinkah a copy of the police report, I'm sure she told you their analysis was… incomplete."

Incomplete was an understatement. It would've been a very good report if they were interested in what the police _didn't_ know.

"We think there are at least five of them, based on eyewitness accounts of the first two robberies," Knight said. "And they're familiar with the area, because they tend to hit stores which have had a larger intake than usual."

So the thieves were monitoring the area closely. They could belong to a local gang or just live in the area, but… "Are you sure it's the same people each time?"

Maiden blinked, then frowned thoughtfully. "Not… necessarily…"

This hadn't occurred to them before? "The same MO doesn't necessarily mean it's the same people at each burglary. If they're members of a gang, that could just be how they've been ordered to do things."

"Right." Maiden shrugged. "Out witness testimony is really limited. The same look-out was spotted at the first two crimes - he has distinctive ram-like horns." Saizo remembered an artist's sketch in the police file. "But for all we know, that's their EMP quirk guy and he's the only one who comes along to every robbery."

At least she caught on quick. "How much have they stolen so far?"

"153,000 geld," Maiden answered promptly. "Give or take."

Saizo was surprised she'd remembered that off the top of her head. He exchanged a look with the prince. "That wouldn't buy very much of the new explosive…"

"But how much to they need?" Ryoma said, "Without knowing their motives, it's impossible to say what their goal is."

Saizo frowned. "If they're so unambitious, what would be the point in getting explosives at all?"

Personally, that's what he thought was the case. Maybe they were small-timers trying to break into the big leagues, raising money to buy a drug shipment. Worth stopping? Of course. A bigger priority than finding the person dealing these new explosives? No.

But, as Ryoma liked to remind him, they didn't have any other leads.

Maiden studied Saizo carefully, lips thinned. "So, what are you thinking? Related or not?"

"I don't think so," Saizo said. When the prince frowned at him, he added, "I'm not the one in charge, however."

She turned to Ryoma, all smiles. But Saizo noticed her fingers tapping against her thigh.

The prince took a moment to respond. Eventually, he said, "I understand Saizo's pessimism, but I think, considering the seriousness of the last three incidents, we have to be suspicious of any criminals trying to obtain a large amount of money in a short amount of time."

Saizo always suspected it was going to go this way, but he still sighed. He hoped Kagero and Orochi were having a better time finding a solid lead.

The Oni, however, seemed pleased. She cracked her knuckles, making Knight wince. "Finally, some action. How do we do this?"

* * *

To his dismay, the prince asked Saizo to pair up with Maiden for the first watch on the store likely to be the burglars' next target, an independent bookshop. They were supposed to be watching for anyone who looked liked they might be scoping the place out. Knight and Maiden had fixed up a makeshift security camera as soon as they'd identified the place as a target, but since they had the manpower to keep watch in shifts and could cover areas a camera could not, here they were.

Maiden yawned for the fourth time in the past few minutes. Maybe he should call her Charlotte, since they were now out of costume and at least _attempting_ to be inconspicuous. But she might mistake that for being friendly.

"So, Mr. Grumpy Ninja."

Saizo balked. "Excuse me?"

"You know, you didn't tell me your real name, so what else can I call you?" Charlotte smirked at him.

He sighed. Three more hours of this. The constant yawning had been less obnoxious. "It's Saizo."

"...Are you serious?"

He couldn't see her in his peripheral vision with his blind eye, but even her imagined incredulity was annoying. "It's a traditional name in my family. We've served the royal family—"

"For five generations, _Saizo V_?" Charlotte said dryly. "I would never have guessed."

Saizo flushed with anger, even though he had to admit he'd walked into that one. "Better than throwing myself at whatever rich person comes within three feet of me."

She narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't think I wouldn't notice? I could smell that jasmine tea Knight made for the Oni from across the room. You're not stupid enough to shell out those kind of prices on a regular basis, so it's safe to assume you bought it especially for the prince—"

He paused, noticing the strange expression on her face. Somewhere between a grimace and surprise. Maybe she really hadn't expected to be found out.

"Your manipulation tactics could've been straight out of Kagero's repertoire. I doubt the prince noticed but I've worked closely with her for ten years, of course I saw what you were doing. _And,_ of course, you made sure to upkeep your own costume whilst neglecting Knight's—"

The strange expression vanished. "What the hell?!" Charlotte snarled. "How dare— Benny _asked_ me not to fix his costume, you sneak."

Saizo blinked. That possibility had honestly never occurred to him. "He… what?"

"He thinks it gives it character." She seemed mollified by his confusion. "You see? He's hopeless. He'd never make the big leagues by himself! That's why I have to go to such lengths."

"Prince Ryoma prefers results over expensive refreshments."

She snorted. "Sure. The rich boy who has had more money than he knows what to do with since birth has _zero_ unrealistic expectations."

Saizo bristled. "You make too many assumptions."

"Listen, I'm sure he's a decent guy, but I've met enough rich kids to know that their 'minimum standards' are totally out of proportion."

He couldn't explain that Prince Ryoma had been raised differently - and had consequently made his own efforts to experience the world differently - without compromising Queen Mikoto's privacy, so he merely glowered.

Naturally, Charlotte took this as a concession, and looked smug for a moment before she yawned again. She blinked blearily at the shop front.

Saizo realised they'd both allowed themselves to become distracted and refixed his attention. It was one thing for a tired amateur to lose focus, quite another for _him_ to fail so badly.

There were no suspicious movements below, however, just ordinary customer browsing.

"That guy there—" Charlotte said abruptly. "Elbow patches."

Saizo frowned. "I see him, but—"

"Look at the way he's fiddling with his collar. And the tweed is high quality, but it doesn't quite fit right."

Indeed, as she was speaking, Saizo noticed the man fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt, although he kept his attention of the rows of discounted books outside the store. "He's not scoping the place out, though. He's probably just new money."

"In this part of town?" The scepticism in her voice was obvious even before he turned to see her elegantly raised eyebrows.

"What then?" he said.

"Distraction." She nodded in the direction of the tweed jacket guy. "Just wait. He'll ask the clerk for something soon, then someone will… sneak into a back room to copy a key, or something."

Ryoma's voice came over the radio. "The camera has cut out suddenly. Is everything okay over there?"

The man Charlotte had identified made a show of putting a book down and shaking his head before entering the shop. He engaged the clerk behind the counter with none of his nervous tics in evidence.

"We've got movement," Saizo said. "They're going off script. I think they're robbing the place _now._ "

Charlotte scrambled after him as he gathered up his weapons belt. It didn't fit quite as comfortably as when in costume, but there wasn't time for that. He only hoped Charlotte could move alright in those tight jeans.

"Are you sure?" she said, eyes darting over the street. "I don't see anyone else…"

"The camera," Saizo said shortly. "Taking it out draws attention. They wanted you to know they were here."

Charlotte blinked and then swore under her breath, shedding her jacket as they took the fire escape stairs two at a time. "Benny, Rinkah, you got ETA?"

Knight's voice crackled over the static. "Two minutes."

"I'll be there in five," Prince Ryoma said. No, he was Raijinto now. Saizo had to think of him as just another hero. Not a priority.

Someone screamed. Maiden jumped the last fifteen feet off the fire escape and soon disappeared around the corner.

Saizo could never make a jump like that. Sometimes, he cursed having such a bizarre and specific quirk. Releasing energy as a small explosion was useful in some circumstances, but also annoyingly loud and flashy; Saizo preferred not to use it at all.

He paused to survey the scene as Maiden began urging the civilians away. It was an old street, narrow and cobbled, which meant a dozen civilians had already been injured by a man with distinctive ram-like horns. _That's the one who was seen by witnesses._ Maiden grabbed him and tossed him into the side of a building, giving another group of civilians a chance to escape down a sidestreet.

Saizo only had a few seconds to identify the second priority target. In the chaos of panicked people searching for safety, he spotted two figures who were far too calm. One had no immediately identifiable quirk and was standing at the opposite end of the street. The other was much closer, with hawk-like eyes—

He pulled a gun out of his jacket and Saizo ran for him.

Saizo drew a knife from his belt and threw it at the man's arm, but it swung in midair and missed him by an inch, clattering to the floor. The hawk-eyed man turned to give his companion a nod. _So the other one's quirk is control over metal,_ Saizo concluded. _It can't be that strong or he would've turned it back on me. I knew I ought to have looked into ceramic knives!_

He ran to tackle the man instead. Hawk-Eyed moved out of the way, bringing his gun into position. Saizo was forced to use his quirk. There wasn't much energy built up so the explosion was little more than bright light and heat, and a _crack_ no louder than a shout. It was still enough to send Hawk-Eyed stumbling back, blinking and cursing. Saizo grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm back until he was forced to let go of the gun.

Saizo kicked it away immediately, but that gave Hawk-Eyed a chance to get behind him. He broke free of Saizo's grip and wrapped an arm around his throat. Saizo gasped, trying to pry Hawk-Eyed's grip loose. It was a vice around his neck, squeezing and squeezing. The urge to breathe was almost unbearable—

With a snarl, he reached over his shoulder and grabbed a handful of Hawk-Eyed's jacket, yanking him off-balance so Saizo could kick his legs out from under him and throw him to the ground.

Saizo pulled back, wheezing and puffing. He didn't notice Metal Man until he elbowed Saizo in the kidneys and he stumbled, hissing in pain, but he was able to punch the side of Metal Man's head and get some space between them.

He spared a second to check the position of the gun; no one had picked it up. Most of the civilians had managed to flee, leaving only a dozen prone on the ground, too injured to move. He caught a brief glimpse of Maiden at the end of the street, fighting to keep Ramhead away from them—

They'd previously done their robberies in the early hours of the morning to avoid being seen. Why change their MO like this, drawing lots of attention? As a distraction for another job? That still didn't explain why they would strike in the middle of the day.

There wasn't time to consider now because Hawk-Eyed and Metal Man were coming for him again. Saizo slipped a knife into his hand. There was a slight tug on it but, as he guessed, Metal Man's control wasn't strong enough to pull it from his grasp.

There was a tense pause, and then they both ran at him. Saizo ducked under Metal Man's swing and tired to dodge Hawk-Eyed too, but he saw the movement and adjusted, clipping the side of Saizo's head. Saizo struck just under Hawk-Eyed's ribs and pushed him away as he started wheezing.

Saizo turned to meet Metal Man and then jerked back, barely avoiding a knife that slashed under his eyes—

No. Not avoided. There was a stinging sensation under his good eye and he realised Metal Man must have taken a knife out of Saizo's own belt. _How careless._ He should have thought of such a thing. Hawk-Eyed probably came at him as a distraction. They were obviously used to working together in a fight.

Metal Man smirked. Saizo saw Hawk-Eyed moving in his peripheral vision but pretended not to.

He waited until the last moment when Hawk-Eyed charged him, elbowing him in the temple; then he spun and caught Metal Man's arm, twisting it. The knife was in Mental Man's other hand and he slashed at Saizo, forcing him to jump back.

Hawk-Eyed was still on the floor. Even if they hadn't known the Oni, Saizo and Raijinto were in the area, they must have expected more heroes would flock to them eventually. Did they really expect to get away—?

Saizo found his muscles seizing up as he was suddenly gripped with pain. Electric shock. Saizo fell to his knees as the right side of his body seized up. What—? _Shit, the third one._ The one who'd been the distraction in the store. He was still across the street. _And he can attack from range. Just what I need._

Metal Man moved to take advantage—then was forced to jump back to escape a wall of fire. The heat alone was enough to make Saizo flinch and he was sure it had singed an eyebrow. He stumbled back to his feet. His right side still felt like it was on fire. "You took your time."

The Oni was wearing her mask and didn't answer. She rolled her neck and strode towards the man with the electric quirk. Easy enough to look casual when you weren't outnumbered three to one.

"You okay?" Knight said.

Saizo started as Hawk-Eyed got up, but he realised Knight was holding his arm out. Hawk-Eyed smacked his face against an invisible barrier. It was somewhat gratifying.

"I've had worse," Saizo said.

Knight was already distracted, probably looking for his partner. Saizo did a quick mental calculation. His quirk wasn't much use in this situation, but Knight's barriers would work well in a defensive matchup against two people.

"I'll give her some backup," Saizo offered.

Knight relaxed minutely. "Thanks."

Metal Man attempted to stab him, but was blocked by another barrier. Knight could only make one at a time so Hawk-Eyed was free to move, but the two of them together couldn't do much more than scratch Knight's armour.

Saizo shook himself and ran to help Maiden. Knight only had to hold up for a few minutes until Prince—until Raijinto arrived. He might be less experienced than Saizo, but he'd be fine.

Maiden's face was swollen and bruised, and she looked haggard.

She acknowledged Saizo with a wave of her hand. "Took your time."

Saizo didn't dignify that with a response.

Ramhead plucked something off the floor and threw it at Saizo. As he ducked under it, Ramhead charged - but Maiden grabbed one of his horns and threw him into a nearby building.

Saizo did a double-take when he realised the thing Ramhead has thrown was an exact replica of one of his horns.

"They grow back," Maiden said. "Did Benny get here okay?"

"Knight is... fine," Saizo said, bewildered by her priorities.

He frowned as Ramhead stood and dusted himself off. The tactics of this gang didn't make sense. He would've thought the distraction in tweed was doing some other job, yet he'd come to fight Saizo - but only when Hawk-Eyed was down. Like they were just trying to keep them busy. But what was the _point?_ They weren't the only heroes in the area, so even if this group were a distraction for another job, it wouldn't necessarily help.

Perhaps they were waiting for backup, but then why not have all three gang up on Saizo immediately and take him out of the fight? Why stretch it out so much? And if they were waiting for something else, l like a getaway vehicle… why draw the attention of the local heroes at all?

Regardless of their strange choices, he still had a job to do.

"You take the fight to him," he said to Maiden. "I'll get the civilians to safety."

Most of the civilians had broken bones and were merely too frightened to move without help, but two were more troubling, with probably head injuries. Under ordinary circumstances, it would be best not to move them at all, but it was even more dangerous for them to remain near the fighting.

He still didn't dare to move them too far, and ended up making a makeshift shelter in a shop front with double doors, which was roughly midway between both fights, just enough that they were unlikely to be caught in the crossfire.

Saizo was considering how he could best jump in to help Maiden when the air took on the tang of a promised storm. Saizo didn't quite sigh with relief, but he let himself relax a little.

 _Raijinto._

Lightning crashed down, blinding, as Raijinto forced the gang apart, driving Ramhead away from Maiden and the civilians and herding the rest into the middle of the road.

But then Saizo noticed their expressions. Not afraid or resigned. The electric Quirk made a spark that shot up into the sky. A signal…?

Saizo's eyes went wide. _What's different today?_ _ **We are.**_

He started to run. "Raijinto, get back!"

A woman stepped out of hiding. Her facial features resembled the electric Quirk's - _a relative? Sibling?_ She was holding a grey plastic box in her hands. Before Saizo could do so much as blink, she let out a breath and flicked a switch.

Saizo was thrown forward by the force of the explosion, covering his head to protect it from falling debris.

He stumbled to his feet. With his own explosive quirk, his body was resistant to the side effects of explosions, but even so, his ears were ringing. The bookshop front was _gone._ What was left was burning, metal and glass melting. The air was already beginning to grow heavy with acrid smoke. The gang had been closest, and they were all thrown across the street, unmoving.

The Oni and Raijinto had gotten clear. Oni, of course, was unaffected by the heat and immediately started to head for the destroyed shop. Saizo's instinct was to run to Raijinto, but he forced himself to check on Knight and Maiden first.

Knight was hauling himself out of some rubble. He seemed shaken but not seriously harmed. Maiden was lying some distance away, just beginning to stir. Saizo hesitated, still thinking that Raijinto may have been the target—

But he knew what Ryoma would say, so he went to her.

Maiden groaned when he touched her shoulder. "Fuck," she mumbled, pushing his hand away and slowly getting to her feet. She staggered and nearly fell.

Saizo pulled her arm over his shoulders. "Don't strain yourself, idiot."

Naturally, Maiden didn't hear him. "Was that this new stuff?"

He blinked. It hadn't even thought of that yet. "It's—"

He froze. The woman who'd set off the explosion was still alive, crawling towards the grey box again despite the enormous shard of glass sticking out of her thigh.

A second bomb? Where was it—?!

Maiden groaned and swatted at him as Saizo turned about, scanning the area. There was no time to intercept, but—

There...right by where Saizo had left the civilians.

It happened almost too quickly to process.

The woman brushed the switch box with her fingertips. Saizo shouted something. The Oni emerged from the ruined shop, beating out fires on her clothes with her free hand, supporting someone over her shoulder with another. Knight followed Saizo's gaze and started to run.

The woman grabbed the box and yanked it towards her.

"Benny!" Maiden screamed.

Knight extended his arm. Saizo saw the shimmer in the air as a barrier went up, protecting the civilians, but leaving Knight exposed—

He kicked Maiden's legs out from under her and dived to cover her just as the bomb went off and the world set on fire.

* * *

Three civilians dead, one of internal bleeding sustained from the ram-headed quirk guy's attacks. A dozen more injured. The prince had to have skin grafts on his arm.

All of it meant nothing to Charlotte compared to the sight of Benny in a hospital bed, covered in bandages and barely alive.

Oh, everyone had praised him, including Prince Ryoma himself. Tributes and well-wishes flooded in from across the entire country. Even Saizo had been unstinting, if blunt, in his praise. Charlotte hoped Benny would wake up to appreciate it.

Prince Ryoma had come down personally, though, straight from surgery to give his thanks for their efforts and best wishes from Benny's recovery. All very sincere and everything. He was handsome, too, the whole works. It should've been a victory but all she could think about was her stupid "social impact" and Saizo's conclusion that the burglars had switched things up for the chance to assassinate the Crown Prince of Hoshido.

"How is he?" Rinkah's voice made Charlotte jump.

"No improvement." She took one of the styrofoam coffee cups from Rinkah. "Not worse, though."

Rinkah made a noise of acknowledgment and took an enormous gulp of her own coffee, even though it was burning Charlotte's hand. It was weird to see Rinkah in casual clothing - knee-length shorts and a tank top. "So, what are you going to do about the agency?"

Charlotte winced. She'd been avoiding that question quite well for the last few days. The agency would need to reopen before Benny recovered, or they'd go bankrupt. But it felt wrong to open the place without him.

When Charlotte didn't answer, Rinkah drained the last of her coffee, chucking it into a waste basket. "Listen, I'll come work with you for a while. While Benny's out."

"You'd do that?"

"I offered, didn't I?" Rinkah looked at Benny's still figure through the observation glass. "He might be a total pushover, but he's tougher than he looks. He'll be annoyed if you get yourself hurt while he's out."

It was a really roundabout way of saying that Charlotte had to keep things going for Benny's sake, but she appreciated it anyway. "Thanks, Rinkah. I think I'll take you up on that. Are you cleared for work yet?"

Charlotte's own injuries had overall been minor after she was declared concussion-free, but Rinkah had suffered some serious smoke inhalation. Her fire quirk might make her resistant to heat, but it didn't do anything for smoke damage.

Rinkah grimaced at the reminder. "Two more days and I'm free for light duty. Let's hope they don't change their mind."

They stood in silence for a while. Charlotte sipped the mediocre coffee.

"By the way, you hear that Saizo was looking for you?"

"No?" _Maybe that's why Beruka's been calling._ "I didn't expect to hear from _him_ again."

"I think he wanted your help with something."

"I guess I'll go see him tomorrow." Charlotte looked at Benny's still form. "Not like I have anything better to do."


	3. Chapter 3

The Royal Agency was in a prime location in the heart of the oldest and most expensive part of the city, Castletown, with a view of Shirosagi Castle itself. Charlotte felt disappointingly anonymous on the journey there, although most of the news coverage had focused on the prince and there was even less reason to think anyone would recognise her out of costume.

She'd known beforehand, of course, but it was still galling to think the prince had managed to buy an _entire_ four-storey townhouse with basement. _Money can't buy happiness?_ Charlotte thought sourly. _Whoever said that was just ungrateful._

A security guard at the door asked her if she was expected.

"I bloody well hope so after coming all this way," she grumbled.

He seemed unsure how to take this. "Er… your name, ma'am?"

"Charlotte Black." She felt bad for snapping at him. She'd done security detail herself as one her part-time jobs back in high school. It was boring and badly paid. "You might also have me down as Maiden. Sorry for being a jerk."

The security guard blinked and nodded. "Saizo V shares an office with Sting on the top floor, ma'am."

Beside where the prince kept _his_ office, no doubt.

To Charlotte's relief, there was a lift that would take her to the top floor, despite the building's age. There was someone waiting for her when she stepped out of the lift - a woman with long purple hair done in an an elaborate traditional style, and a dozen bracelets on each wrist. Charlotte had never met her before, but she recognised her as Trickster, the fortune-telling hero.

"Ah, I thought it was you." Trickster said. "Welcome to the Royal Agency."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "I'm supposed to meet Saizo."

Trickster waved her hands dismissively. "I know, I know, but I couldn't resist seeing who'd impressed the Fifth so much."

Charlotte blinked. 'Impressed?' She wasn't sure how to reply, but another woman opened a door behind Trickster before Charlotte could say anything. With the long, dark hair that fell over her face, she was easily recognisable as Sting.

"Orochi," Sting said. "I told you to be nice. We're asking for a favour."

Oh, so that's what this was about. Charlotte wished _someone_ in this place would be direct.

"Sorry!" Trickster blew Sting a kiss. "Couldn't resist."

Sting gave her a flat look and turned to address Charlotte. "Saizo is just gathering some papers. He should be here— oh."

There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and a moment later, Saizo appeared, looking conspicuous in normal clothing. He didn't even look surprised to see her. "Oh, good. I was having some trouble getting past your secretary—"

Charlotte groaned and pinched her nose. She _really_ had to have a talk with Beruka. "She's not a secretary, she's our security." She frowned at his surprised expressed. "We handle sensitive information too, you know."

"Right," he said, shifting the files to his other arm. "I thought she was quirkless?"

"She _is,_ but…" Charlotte sighed. "Well, you haven't seen her in action. Let's leave it at that."

Sting started to look interested in the conversation. "What was her name again?"

"And you told me off for being nosy," Trickster said.

Sting blushed, but looked at Charlotte expectantly. Saizo would just tell her later, anyway. "Beruka."

Sting disappeared inside the office. "Did you miss something important in your background checks?" Trickster asked. "How unlike you, Saizo."

He closed his eyes and suppressed a sigh. "Let's go somewhere more private," he said to Charlotte.

Unsurprisingly, with a line like that, Trickster waggled her eyebrows. Saizo seemed to know it had been a bad choice of words. His eye twitched.

It was all very reassuring to know that the top hero agency in the country was full of eccentrics, but Charlotte's nerves were stretched thin as it was.

"What did you want to talk about?" Charlotte asked.

Saizo didn't say anything until he'd tried a few doors down and found an empty room. "How's Knight?"

"Terrible," she snapped. "What did you want to talk about?"

"None of the burglars survived, but we were able to find out who they'd been working for." Saizo gestured ahead of him. "The information is sensitive," he added, after a moment.

Did he ever not sound formal? She _thought_ it was his attempt at an apology, but he couldn't just say 'sorry for all the secrecy', could he?

But it could be an opportunity to get back at the people who hurt her best friend so badly, so she didn't want to push her luck too much. It was some kind of conference or briefing room with a long table and a dozen chairs. She picked one at random and sat down.

Saizo hesitated, then took a seat opposite her. He spread the papers out across the table in front of him. "The woman, Slyvestra, was a known associate of some people who were already of interest to us, and it turns out that the other burglars were also members—"

Charlotte had already seen the abbreviation in the files. She drew in a breath. "The NNF."

"I assume you know about them."

Of course she knew the Nohrian National Front. Her uncle was a member when he was younger - before his arrest and prison sentence, that is. The NNF said his actions had nothing to do with them, of course. "You'd know, with your background checks, wouldn't you?"

Saizo had the grace to look a little ashamed. "That wasn't personal. The prince's safety—"

"Look, I don't actually care." Gods only knew Beruka had probably been just as thorough on occasion. "But let's not pretend you don't already know everything about me."

"I don't know _everything,_ " Saizo protested, but she glared at him and he simply sighed instead. "Well, I need not bother you with the basics. The main thing is that because of their decline in popularity, the NNF have had to resort to some extreme measures to make up for the loss in funding. This group were just members of a local chapter."

"Makes sense, I guess," she said. "What about the explosives?"

"That is… less certain. We do know that the Black Bomber—" He grimaced at the title. "—has been underselling their stock significantly. Perhaps their goals are aligned with the NNF's in some way and they were given an even steeper discount, or they're working for the Black Bomber directly. That's actually what we would like to look into."

"That makes sense, I guess."

Saizo tapped his fingers against the table. "The reason they changed tactics that day was because—"

"They saw you and Raijinto in the area," she said flatly. "I know. Your prince already told me."

"The prince should've had a larger security detail," Saizo pressed. "It was poor judgement on our part not to come more prepared, given the impossibility for your agency to adequately fulfill our security needs—"

"Get to the point," she snapped.

"I'd like you to go undercover in the NNF," Saizo said.

Charlotte felt like she'd swallowed her tongue for a moment. "What?!"

"You asked me to get to the point."

"Yeah, but… this is madness."

He frowned. "Are you worried about being recognised? I think it's unlikely - with a wig and some coloured contacts, no one would recognise you."

Gods, he was really serious about the idea."Don't you normally do this kind of work with Sting?"

"Yes, but the NNF is obviously not very welcoming to Hoshidans," Saizo said. "She could disguise her looks with her illusions, but passing as a person of a totally different culture for any serious length of time would be impossible." He paused. "Besides, she's already been assigned to improve the security arrangements for the coronation in light of the attempt on Prince Ryoma's life."

Charlotte fumbled for some other objection. "Well, fine, but… there's got to be some other Nohrian who could do it."

"Perhaps, and if you refuse, I'll have to find one." Saizo grimaced. "I've see you in practise, however, which has given me more confidence in—"

"What? No, no." Charlotte buried her face in her hands. "Look, I've sweet-talked a number of men in my time, but that's it - I've not been… taught or anything."

"And you think Kagero learned from a manual?" Saizo said dryly. "You spotted that man at the bookstore before I realised he was a problem."

That was true, but… Charlotte sighed. It would be nice to get payback for Benny, but this was bigger than both of them - if she screwed up, a lot of people could get hurt. Benny would never forgive her is she recklessly agreed to something over her head for some kind of revenge.

"I would be leading the mission, of course."

He said that like it was supposed to be reassuring after he _just_ admitted Charlotte could outdo him at spotting suspicious people.

"Once I told the prince how you manipulated him to give you his endorsement, he agreed with my assessment."

"You did _what?!"_

Saizo nodded smugly. "I thought that would get your attention."

"How about I _attend_ to you by beating you with this chair, you sneak?" Charlotte picked up the chair next to her in one hand to illustrate her point.

He shifted backwards slightly, keeping his good eye on the chair, but only said, "Prince Ryoma doesn't care about that. You think you're the first person to use underhanded tactics for your own advantage? What he _does_ care about is the safety of the people. If you help on this, I'm sure you'll have his endorsement if you wish."

Gods, and now he was trying to bribe her. As if she didn't feel guilty enough already. She dropped the chair. "Alright, fine, no need to grovel - but it's on your head."

Saizo sat back and relaxed. "Let's get started, then. You need to read up on the recent NNF activities—"

"Are you sure that's wise?" Charlotte frowned. "I don't want to seem too familiar and give myself away."

He gave her an exasperated look. "You _just_ told me how unqualified you are for an undercover mission."

"Yeah, but I'm not Sting. She must do this stuff all the time, right?" Saizo shifted awkwardly and she rolled her eyes. No wonder Rinkah called them 'the ninjas'; he was so… _cagey._ "Whatever. So she's used to faking reactions to stuff she already knows. I'm not."

He tried to stare her down or a minute and then sighed. "I _was_ the one who asked for your help," he grumbled, but she didn't think he was actually mad. "Fine. What would be your approach?"

* * *

Despite his reservations, Saizo was pleasantly surprised when Charlotte's suggestions proved to be sensible. They didn't have a whole lot on each of the NNF's leaders, mainly because no one had believed the NNF capable of much damage with the resources they had. A painfully ironic assumption, in retrospect.

"Mikail's probably too self-important," Charlotte had said. "The higher-ups never had time for the 'little people'; they think it makes them less leader-like. And we don't know much about Baz… which leaves Drew. He's got a blog. I can work with this."

Saizo had personally thought Mikail the most likely weak spot _because_ of his self-importance, but he assumed Charlotte would know better. He hadn't mentioned it in the initial debriefing because it sounded too much like an accusation, but the border town where Charlotte was raised was a hotbed of NNF recruitment. If her uncle was the only official member in the family, he certainly wasn't the only one whose sympathies lay in that direction.

 _But,_ Saizo reminded himself, _Charlotte's worked with Siegfried - who, despite being President Garon's son, has done a lot to ease relations between Nohr and Hoshido. And she came here voluntarily to work as a hero. That must count for something._

All the same, it was hard not to feel a little uneasy as she talked about the NNF values and beliefs with the air of an expert. Charlotte had done most of the work of building her cover story herself, including a reason for being in Hoshido that wouldn't raise the hackles of the NNF.

"Work." She's smirked. "All I have to do is feed them the line about exploitation of Nohrians for pittages wages. They'll eat it up."

It was one of the NNF's only talking points with any basis in reality. Not universally true, of course; Queen Mikoto had spearheaded a number of campaigns aimed at tightening regulations and to make things easier for undocumented migrants to bring charges against their employers without risking deportation or criminal charges of their own. It was one of the reasons the NNF were losing popularity - hard to get your racist tirades about Hoshidans taken seriously if people can see the queen taking major steps to fix the problem.

But Nohr was still a poverty-stricken country, and it was easy enough to smuggle people across the Bottomless Canyon with the right combination of quirks and technology, and to intimidate them into compliance.

He'd raised this with Charlotte, and all she'd said was that the NNF liked to use it to lead into their next talking point - how Hoshidans believed Nohrians unsuited for more 'intellectual' forms of labour. Then, she'd rolled her eyes and said the NNF liked to pretend their own faults were caused by someone else. Saizo couldn't treat the subject quite so cavalierly.

In terms of the mission itself, though, everything was good. Like he'd suspected, Charlotte's reluctance had been unfounded - she was already gifted in the arts of manipulation. Kagero said she wouldn't do well with women, but the NNF was estimated to be 85% male, so that wouldn't be a problem. Despite all his confidence in front of the prince, Saizo had been relieved to have Kagero's approval of the mission, and his mission partner.

It was nearly as trivial to set up Charlotte's persona - an apartment that she had to be seen at, a few neighbours to be introduced to. 'Leticia' even had a job, thanks to an insurance company which complied with the letter of the law and not much else. In return for faking the employee records of one Leticia Grunning, they would have the opportunity to alter their practises ahead of the new legislation that was the work of Ryoma's allies in the Senate, and the prince would avoid recommending other heroes avoid the company because of their exploitative practises.

Since the boom in Professional Heroes in Hoshido thirty years ago, and the subsequent increase in damages both to the Pros and to civilians, the insurance industry had made a killing by moving into the relatively unregulated Hoshido. To increase profits further, they often employed recent immigrants from Nohr or other countries at hilariously inappropriate wages. Legislation was only just beginning to catch up - mainly because the current Prime Minister, Yukimura, was an old friend of Queen Mikoto, and she had been able to lean on him a little.

Leticia Grunning wouldn't stand out at all as the dissatisfied employee of such a company, and it would make her prime recruitment material for the NNF. Charlotte, of course, had come up with some additional… incentive.

"What if this Drew already has a girlfriend?" Saizo said.

Charlotte snorted. " _Please._ The NNF are all about traditional Nohrian values; loyalty to your woman is not one of them - you've seen the President. If he has a girlfriend, it will hardly matter if he thinks I'm 'better'. Which he will."

President Garon was particularly infamous for having four children by four different women, only one of whom he'd been married to. And those were just the children he publically acknowledged. It had yet to hurt him at the ballot box, but that was the advantage of rigging your own elections.

"I suppose you have a point."

He heard Charlotte curse at the other end of the line, and a muffled, "This fucking lock…"

When they'd met with this board of the company providing her cover, she'd been professional and positively angelic, somehow coming out of the meeting with an agreement from the CFO to have dinner together to discuss a potential sponsorship deal. When Saizo asked if she was aware the executive had spent most of the conversation looking down her top, she shrugged and said it had kept him nodding.

You really had to admire that sort of ruthlessness, but it was a little unnerving to see her switch between personas so seamlessly.

Luckily, Leticia Grunning was quite a bit closer to the real Charlotte. Enough to carry on a worthwhile conversation with.

"Back to work soon," Leticia said into the phone.

"The Oni is covering for Knight, isn't she? Have you worked together at all?"

"We get along well enough."

Saizo sighed. Not quite what he asked, but he supposed that was the point. He wasn't quite sure why Charlotte insisted on this charade of a conversation as part of her cover. It wasn't such a pain, anyway; in all honesty he'd grown quite interested in her. She was much more capable than he'd first assumed, and he was quite looking forward to seeing how she worked a mission like this. If all went well, perhaps they would work together again in the future.

"How is Knight?"

There was a pause before Charlotte answered. "He's not in danger, really."

"Ah. That's… good." Stabilised or out of intensive care. He detected some strain in her voice and cast about for another topic. The trouble was, Saizo didn't really _do_ small talk. "...What's the apartment like?"

"Oh, it's bigger than my last place!" Charlotte said with false brightness. She went on to briefly describe the layout of the flat in a way which highlighted all potential escape routes. "The fire escape is on the other side of the building, though. Hopefully there won't be any fires."

"I should hope not," Saizo said. Not that she would be living there most of the time. He couldn't think of anything else to said. "Look, won't your neighbours be satisfied by now? I have work to do."

He'd meant to sound stern, but for some reason, she laughed. "Fine, fine! Don't come then. I'll see you later."

Then she hung up. Saizo felt positively blessed to have had Kagero as a partner after every encounter with Charlotte. How could one person be so confusing?

It wasn't disagreeable, just weird.


	4. Chapter 4

It took a few days before Charlotte felt ready to manufacture a meeting with Drew. Saizo trailed him for a few days - mainly for his own peace of mind, Charlotte suspected. Lieutenants of terrorists didn't seem to have much to do other than to look scary, but Drew liked to see himself as an intellectual. He published articles on the NNF's website on a regular basis and spent the occasional weekend reading up on new pseudoscientific woo to justify his beliefs.

But Charlotte needed him to believe that 'Leticia' took his work seriously, so she read some of his articles in preparation, and settled in for the long haul. Still, at least she had something to do. She'd bought a fluffy romance novel to read at the cafe - an appropriate, non-brain-dead hobby that would nonetheless reassure Drew of his intellectual superiority. The book was pretty cliche, but not the worst thing she'd ever read.

As they thought might be the case, Drew didn't show up that weekend. That was fine by Charlotte, since the tea was nice and the chairs were comfy, plus it didn't _hurt_ to establish that Leticia came totally independently of Drew being there, even if it was probably overkill.

Saizo didn't enjoy the boring afternoon quite so much. He even called Charlotte to complain about the waste of time and all the other cases he could be working on. She rolled her eyes and offered to lend him a book. Considering that Sting and Saizo V were a duo famed for their undercover work, he was really rather impatient.

Saizo calmed down after his rant and Charlotte was able to talk to him like a normal person. It was still embarrassing to think that he'd seen straight through her, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone without having to think about it too hard. Usually, she had Benny, but…

Great. And now she wanted to see him, but she couldn't go visiting as Leticia. She sighed.

"Something wrong?"

Sure, _now_ he was interested and stuff. "Just a little homesick," she told him, aware she was still, technically Leticia. "It'll pass."

Saizo didn't reply immediately. "If you insist," he said.

Why did she feel like he'd seen right through her?

The next weekend they got lucky. That was good, because after a week of trading off boring patrols with Rinkah and having Benny go back into the ICU after he crashed during surgery, Saizo wasn't the only one liable to snap.

When Drew came into the cafe, Charlotte didn't look up. She heard him ask the barista for his usual, and _then_ she looked up.

Drew wasn't bad looking, if you didn't know how foul a person he was. He looked just like any other person, wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans with a worn backpack. The only distinctive thing about him was the intricate tree, possessing a dozen intertwining branches, tattooed on his forearm. It was Brynhildr, part of the foundation myth of Nohr back when it had been a kingdom and an empire - so naturally, it was excessively popular with NNF types.

As you did when waiting for a drink in a cafe, Drew was scanning the room out of boredom. His eyes met Charlotte's, and she smiled at him.

He returned the smile, and as she hoped, when his drink was ready he couldn't pass up the opportunity to sit near the pretty Nohrian girl who seemed interested in him.

She glanced up from her book when he sat at the table next to her, but she didn't say anything, and neither did he as he set up his workspace. They sat in a weird parody of companionable silence. Charlotte forced herself to keep reading at a normal pace, even though her heart was pounding. It was still early days for the 'mission', but there was plenty of room for her to screw things up.

After about half an hour, she finished her tea and went up to the counter to order more. When she was on the way back to her seat, she let her eyes be drawn to Drew's laptop screen.

" _The Kingdom's Rats?"_ she said. "Isn't that an old Hoshidan book?"

She only knew of it because the original manuscript had been on display at the Shirosagi Museum when she visited, back when she and Benny were still considering the move. It was thought to be one of the oldest works of political satire or something. Honestly, she only knew what the museum plaque had told her; it was a national treasure by an anonymous author and it went through a new edition every twenty years or so.

Charlotte was confused about Drew's interest in it, but she remembered her plan. She covered her mouth. "Sorry, that's so rude of me. I just couldn't help—"

Drew waved her apology away with a smile. "Easily done, I don't mind explaining. You see…"

And then he went on to tell her how _The Kingdom's Rats_ was actually written by a Nohrian Duke to critique Hoshidan society, the manuscript in the museum was faked…

In short, a conspiracy theory, and not even an exciting on eat that. Still, Charlotte pretended to be interested, taking her seat again but keeping her entire body angled towards Drew and nodding along when he explained the 'evidence' for his theory.

"They've got some nerve, haven't they?" she said when he'd finished.

"Well, they do have _that_." He seemed pleased by her answer. "My apologies for rambling. It's just something that interests me."

There was a lull in the conversation. Charlotte bit her lip as a sign of nervousness, but made no move to turn back to her book.

"So, what are you reading?" Drew asked.

A weird way to chat someone up, but he was an 'intellectual', she supposed. "Oh, it's just a little novel," she said. "To be honest, it was mainly to give me an excuse to get out of the flat and meet people, you know."

Drew raised an eyebrow. "Hard to meet people with your nose buried in a book."

Charlotte tapped her book's cover and gave him a sheepish smile. "I guess not."

She pushed it aside.

He grinned. "I'm Drew," he said. "Nice to meet you."

"Leticia."

 _Hook, line, and sinker._

* * *

Charlotte's work as Leticia was proceeding well. Saizo had the dubious pleasure of monitoring the listening device Charlotte wore to the coffee dates, and subsequent dinner dates, with Drew - which all inevitably turned towards his nationalist views. 'By far the least interesting one-track mind I've ever encountered,' Charlotte said.

Leticia, however, listened with rapt interest. After a few dates, she started to add her own observations, Hoshidan bosses at work who didn't respect her, how someone back home said a guard at the border spat at her…

Drew lapped it up. It was impressive how easily Charlotte was able to tell him everything he wanted to hear without arousing suspicion, and it made Saizo uncomfortable. Did she know the right thing to say because she was thinking some of them herself?

It seemed an irrational fear, given everything, and yet it gnawed at him. Charlotte wouldn't be the first person in the world to hold onto beliefs from her childhood, or to disdain Hoshidans generally but to make some exceptions, or to only agree with the principles underlying the NNF's behaviour but not the behaviour itself.

Saizo should've been to to working with unsavoury characters - sometimes, one couldn't choose one's allies, and not everyone got into the hero business for the most ethical of reasons.

It was just that, well… he _liked_ his first impression had not been the best, he'd soon come to believe he'd judged too hastily. She was intelligent, talented, capable; all things that Saizo admired. Additionally, she was good company - much more so than when she'd been _trying_ to be pleasing. It was unpleasant to think that she might merely see him as a necessary evil for getting revenge for her partner.

He and Kagero maintained a number of safe houses on the Agency's expenses, really just apartments in neighbourhoods where the inhabitants rarely stayed in one place for longer than a year, so one could be safely anonymous coming and going in various different guises, as Kagero did for her undercover missions. Saizo used them less regularly, but for this assignment (with Kagero's permission, of course) he'd set one aside for Charlotte's use, partway between the apartment she rented as Leticia and her agency.

He waited there for her to arrive. The door had barely closed behind her before she was reaching to take off the wig, and only after fiddling for a moment with the pins did she see him.

Charlotte stopped. "He...llo?"

There was a lecture about situational awareness right on the top of his tongue, but Saizo refrained. "I'd like to ask you something."

She rolled her eyes and shoved her way past him. "That requires ambushing me in the hallway, does it?"

Saizo rubbed his shoulder. "Sorry." He supposed it was getting to him more than he thought.

"You're so weird," Charlotte said, which he supposed meant wasn't really angry.

She stood in front of the mirror, trying to fix her real hair to her satisfaction after keeping it trapped under the wig for hours. Saizo knew this because he had already been subjected to several rants on the subject. His comment that nobody should care about their hair that much was met with indignation.

"About the NNF," Saizo said carefully. Charlotte froze. Their eyes met in the mirror, hers bluer than the sky and wide with surprise. "You don't… really believe that rubbish, do you?"

She avoided his gaze, messing with the pot for her hairpins. "I used to."

There was enough of a waver in her voice that he believed she was being honest. He was about to make a graceful retreat when she added, "That's how I got so good at this"

"Hm?"

She waved a hand expansively. "You know. Playing pretend." Again, she toyed with her hair, but now it seemed like it was just so she had something to do with her hands. "It's not _quite_ as bad as despising an entire nation, but the NNF and their like have some weird ideas about how women should act, too, you know. My parents got over the racism after my uncle was arrested, but they were never _really_ happy with my choice of career."

"You still send them money, though," Saizo pointed out.

That made Charlotte more like her usual self; she rolled her eyes. " _Duh._ They're my parents and I love them. They do try, bless them. Mom just has this… thing that no guy will want to marry a woman stronger than he is."

"What, they don't think Knight is good enough for you?"

Charlotte snorted. "I _just_ got them to accept that me and Benny are friends. Don't you start."

"I was joking," Saizo said. There were a lot of rumours on the net, but after seeing them together, he didn't think there was anything romantic between them. "Anyway, you're good at what you do, so your parents have no right to complain."

" _Thank_ you."

It was said in the way people used when someone agreed with them on an obvious subject, but Charlotte stopped fretting after that, tying her hair up in her usual bow.

"Could you clear off now? I have to get changed quick if I want to visit Benny before I'm due for patrol."

"Of course," Saizo said, turning to head out. It was nice to see her back to her usual brusque, confident self, but he still had to write up his observations for a report. "I'll see you next week."

* * *

Even heroes didn't have to work 24/7, and eventually, Rinkah and Charlotte were able to visit Benny at the same time. He was out of the ICU - for good this time, they said - but he was in an induced coma to give him more time to heal.

Charlotte was glad Rinkah was here. Visiting Benny by herself lately had been like having a vice around her chest, growing tighter and tighter. It was just so depressing, seeing him looking lifeless and small in the hospital bed - well, as small as Benny got, anyway. But she kept visiting, because she knew Benny would do the same if their positions were reversed. Anyway, weren't people in comas supposed to be able to hear you sometimes?

"Did the doctors talk to you?" Rinkah asked, jolting Charlotte out of her thoughts. "I tried asking them myself, but he has you down as next of kin, so…"

How could she have forgotten to tell Rinkah? It would be bothering her, too. "If you mean when he's going to wake up, they said two weeks at the earliest."

Rinkah nodded. "You better let Saizo know, just in case. I don't know exactly what he has you doing," Rinkah said, "but you'll want to be here when Benny wakes up, right?"

Charlotte frowned. She hadn't really given it much thought - just sort of assumed that Saizo wouldn't mind her taking an afternoon off to be with Benny. But actually, could you even get time off for an undercover mission? She sort of had that already to work part-time at the agency, but maybe that would make Saizo less accommodating.

Perhaps Rinkah was right? For all Charlotte knew, Saizo was only being nice to her because it made working together easier, or because she was doing a good job, but it didn't necessarily mean he would do her personal favours just because she asked him. Was there a process for this? She'd have to look it up...

Rinkah nudged her suddenly. "He's not being too hard on you, is he? I know that man has no sense of work/life balance. You look worn out."

"No, it's fine." Really, the work had been pretty easy so far. "He's weird at times, but not like, a hardass or anything. He's been… good to work with, honestly." She looked again at Benny's still form. "I guess it's just stress."

"...Yeah." Rinkah wasn't at her best, herself, although that could be because she was still doing the odd shift at her dad's agency on top of doing Benny's work at the Knight and Maiden Agency. "Anyway. Two weeks. That's… good."

Charlotte made a game of making small talk with Rinkah and trying to get more than monosyllabic responses until it was time to go.

She squeezed Benny's hand. The familiar calluses and scars were a small comfort whilst the man himself was unresponsive. "See you soon, I hope."

* * *

"Kagero," Saizo announced, "I need a second opinion."

Orochi sat on Kagero's desk, covering the paperwork with her hands. She smiled. "Well I think you should go for it. It would do you a world of good to—"

"It is _not_ about a woman, and if it were, I would not require _your_ input," Saizo said irritably.

Orochi merely laughed, but Kagero narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me for a moment," she said, squeezing Orochi's hand.

"Don't take too long!" she said. "Remember, we have our lunch date."

"Of course." Kagero gave her a parting smile as she strode to the door and shut it behind her. For Saizo, she only had a frown. "I have asked you not to snap at her like that. If she's making you uncomfortable, ask her to stop."

Ah, yes, admitting to emotional vulnerability in front of Orochi, that could only end well!

Kagero saw his expression and sighed. "I know you're stressed, but you two _are_ still colleagues. You're supposed to be able to work comfortably together."

Her standards of 'comfortably' had always been different to Saizo's, so when he said, "I'll think about it," she already knew his answer.

She let the matter drop with another frown. One of the reasons a romantic relationship had never worked out between them was their inability to compromise on issues like this. "What did you want to ask?"

He showed her the formal leave request that had come in from Charlotte. "I have no objections in principle, but I wanted a second opinion on whether it was too important a stage in the operation."

She scanned the page with a thoughtful expression. "A single afternoon? Oh, it's part of Knight's recovery. If this 'Drew' _does_ want to see her at that time, arrange it as 'overtime' at work; he might pressure her to get out of a social engagement, which could cause complications when she has to refuse."

Saizo nodded and made a note.

"How is your working relationship with Maiden?"

He'd grown so used to thinking of her as 'Charlotte' that it took a moment for him to realise who Kagero was talking about. "...Do _you_ think there's a problem?" he said, instead of giving an answer. Although Kagero was his closest friend, he found he didn't really know how to explain his relationship with Charlotte.

Or perhaps he was just reluctant to admit that he wasn't as professional with her as would be ideal.

"It could be nothing," Kagero said, "but she _did_ go through the trouble of a formal request procedure instead of talking to you directly, which certainly would've been less hassle. Perhaps she was afraid of what you might say?"

Saizo now scowled at the leave request, like the paper would apologise for not explaining Charlotte's motives. "She's… intimidated by me?" That seemed hilariously unlikely. More probably, she just disliked him.

The thought was unpleasant. He'd grown to like her, and he didn't mean to make his company something she merely tolerated.

Kagero shrugged. "I couldn't know. But on a mission like this, it's important that she be able to be honest about her feelings. ...Of course, this is a private matter, so maybe she just didn't want to share it with a work colleague. Still, I think it's worth approaching her about the issue." She paused. " _Delicately._ "

"You needn't say it like that," Saizo protested, but his mind was elsewhere. This was why this damned mission was so stressful. By turns, Charlotte would be at ease enough to share personal information about her relationship with her parents, and at other times, there was… this.

"If you need more advice, I'm sure Orochi would be happy to help."

Saizo could only imagine the look of horror on his face.

Kagero smiled, but she was serious enough when she added, "Orochi gives good advice. Please consider it."

He snorted. "If Orochi had her way, I'd be marrying Charlotte by the year's end."

Kagero looked at him strangely, but before she could say anything, Orochi stepped out of the office. "Don't be ridiculous, Saizo, I'd never recommend a winter wedding for a workaholic like you. If you can't take leave from work to go away on your wedding anniversary, you should definitely pick a spring or summer date. That's just common sense!"

Saizo felt this proved his point well, but Kagero ignored his pointed look, laughing and kissing Orochi's cheek. "I'm sorry I took _so_ long," she said.

"As you should be," Orochi replied, linking her arm with Kagero's. "As an apology, why don't you take me out to lunch? I know this lovely place just around the corner."

Kagero laughed again and waved goodbye to Saizo as she led Orochi to the lift. Orochi, of course, only winked.

She was often intolerable, but Saizo _was,_ begrudgingly, grateful to her for making Kagero happy. He still would rather swallow his own tongue than go to Orochi for relationship advice of any kind.

He stared at the leave request and sighed. _I'll just have to manage on my own._


	5. Chapter 5

Charlotte was relieved when she finally got to the safehouse and was able to remove the wig. It wasn't really uncomfortable, just _weird._ She didn't recognise herself in the mirror and it always made her jump. _And_ she'd had to cut her hair to her shoulders to be able to pin it underneath the wig. It would take forever to grow back to her preferred length.

"Charlotte?"

She shrieked in an undignified fashion. "Saizo! Don't scare me like that. What if I was in the middle of changing?"

"I'm not looking. I just wanted to ask you something."

Charlotte turned on the spot but couldn't see him. "Do you do this ninja shit on purpose?"

"Maybe you're just inobservant."

She whirled around to find Saizo smirking at her, the jerk. She had definitely looked in this part of the room. "I don't know how Sting puts up with you."

"She's not as easy to fluster," Saizo said.

Charlotte put her hands on her hips and glared at him. She couldn't actually refute that it was remarkably easy for him to get under her skin, but she wasn't going to take this teasing lying down. "I _could_ still throw you through a wall, you know."

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, although he was still smiling slightly. "Alright, alright."

She folded her arms, making her best unimpressed face to cover for the fact she did find him a _little_ funny. "What do you want?"

Saizo's expression grew serious. "About the leave request…"

"What?" Panic fluttered in Charlotte's throat. "I thought you said it was fine!"

"It _is_ fine. I just—" He stopped suddenly, hesitating. "Is there… something I'm doing wrong?"

"What?"

"You could have just asked me personally. I don't want to seem… unapproachable."

"But you…" Charlotte struggled to put it into words, especially when she saw him clench his jaw as though bracing himself for impact. "I just thought you wouldn't… approve." She felt like a total asshole when he actually winced, and hastily added, "I want to do this thing right, you know! I didn't want you to think I couldn't handle it or, or wasn't willing to make sacrifices…"

Because if he'd sent an email in response to a formal request with a denial, Charlotte would've had some time to pull herself together. If she'd said it to his face and he'd told her no, she probably would've embarrassed herself begging him to change his mind.

"Benny's just— he's really important to me," she blurted, "and I _need_ to be there for him, and people think it's because I'm in love with him or something and it doesn't matter but—"

It didn't make sense even to her, but it was the best way she had to put it into words. Maybe it was because of her public persona, but if people thought she was in love with Benny, suddenly her feelings for him became an affliction of Girlishness that had no real meaning. But it wasn't like that at all.

"Charlotte," Saizo said softly, and for some stupid reason she started crying.

She covered her face. _Gods, could this have gone any worse?_ She could sense, rather than see, Saizo hovering. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand," he said. "Kagero's saved my life six times, and saved me from terrible mistakes more times than I can count. Without her, I'd be lost."

Charlotte did feel pretty lost. She appreciated Rinkah coming to help out, but it wasn't the same as seeing Benny every day; the only person she'd ever been completely honest with who hadn't run away. "I just wanted to see him," she choked out, "but I—he—"

"You want him to be well again," Saizo said quietly, "and he's not."

She sniffed and tried to blink the tears away. Good thing she had just come _back_ from meeting Drew - she must look an absolute fright. "I guess," she said. "Benny's done so much for me. I wish I could help him."

Charlotte instinctually jerked away when Saizo touched her chin, and he took his hand away when she met his eyes.

"You _are_ helping him," he said softly. "You're saving people in ways that he can't. That's why you're partners in the first place."

She stared at him and he held her gaze. Despite being in costume, he didn't have his mask on. It wasn't like Charlotte hadn't seen his face before, but it seemed almost too open, too honest. She flushed.

"I guess you're right," she said. "No way could Benny pretend to hate anyone, even for a minute."

Saizo blinked and nodded, taking a step back. The mask went over his face again. She was disappointed to see him putting his guard up again, but, she reminded herself, he wasn't Benny. He wasn't used to having Charlotte crying on his shoulder.

"Sorry," Charlotte said.

Saizo shrugged. "It's fine."

She let out a laugh that turned into a hiccup. "You're supposed to say 'no need to apologise', asshole."

He wasn't a good replacement for Benny, but that was okay. Maybe Saizo was the kind of friend she needed right now.

* * *

Saizo was kind enough not to bring up Charlotte's breakdown again, which was nice as the most important part of her undercover work was starting and it would be nice to _pretend_ to be a professional who had it all together.

Drew invited her to a formal 'discussion group' for the NNF, which mainly consisted of people ranting at varying levels of coherence. Mikail was in attendance, and Drew made sure to introduce her to him afterwards.

Mikail had a nice voice, deep and rich, and he was clearly aware of it. He looked her up and down and drew out the sounds of her name. "Leticia…" He shook her hand. "I hope we'll see you again."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Drew frowning. She'd have to be careful how far she returned Mikail's blatant interest and keep track of the dynamics of their friendship. Drew _had_ only introduced her as a 'friend', but there had been a significant pause before the word which Mikail was unlikely to have missed.

"Drew speaks highly of you," Charlotte said, which she thought was a nice balance between ingratiating herself with the new man and 'loyalty' to Drew. Too bad only Saizo would be able to appreciate her cleverness. "It was really interesting, so I'm sure I'll come again."

"Just don't let Drew turn you all stuffy and boring, eh?" Mikail winked.

She laughed lightly because she'd never quite mastered the ability to blush on demand. "To be honest, I can barely keep up with him."

Mikail accepted this answer and said his goodbyes.

As he walked away, Drew yanked her aside. "What was that?"

So even her extremely circumspect responses hadn't been enough to save Drew's feelings. It was almost pitiable. "He's like your boss or something, right?" Charlotte said, putting on a nervous expression. "I didn't want him to think I was rude."

Drew was mollified. Of course, he didn't apologise, but he led her away from the crowd with a gentle hand on her back. "I'm sure you made a good impression. Although you shouldn't talk yourself down." He smiled at her. "You manage to keep up with me okay."

Okay? Gods, _men._ He couldn't even say she was intelligent, just that she wasn't totally inadequate as a conversation partner. Still, she pretended to be flattered, and kept the smile plastered on her face until they parted ways.

Charlotte hoped Saizo _was_ waiting at the safehouse, however sneaky he was about it. She could use someone to rant to.

* * *

Charlotte stormed in. The door visibly shook when she slammed it.

Saizo paused in the middle of writing his report, confused. He'd been listening in the whole time, and the meeting had seemed to go well from his perspective. He opened his mouth to say as much—

"Why are men so _annoying?_ " Charlotte demanded.

"Uh?" Saizo ended up saying.

Luckily, she did not seem to require his input. "I have sat through _hours_ of that sad sack's lectures on how Hoshido is as useless as a chocolate fireguard and not _once_ have I said 'if they're so bad at everything how are they oppressing Nohr so badly' and does he appreciate it? _No._ "

He listened with half an eye to the report he was typing up. It seemed like something she just wanted to get out of her system. It was very different to Kagero, who was always calm and collected. Still, Saizo couldn't complain of being bored.

"And I swear by every god there is, if Drew condescendingly praises my intelligence _one more time,_ I am going to beat him to death with one of those insipid romance novels!" Charlotte was breathing hard by the time she was finished.

"Feel better?" Saizo said.

"You could've at least _pretended_ to be listening," she snapped, taking the pins out of her hair and throwing them onto the dressing table like miniature javelins.

"I was listening!" he protested. "I understand your frustration that they won't treat you as an intellectual equal, but that only goes to show that you're beyond their level. Otherwise you wouldn't deceive them so easily."

"Well." Charlotte snarled, and then floundered. "...Thanks! I guess!"

She returned to brushing her hair, but Saizo could see her flushed face in the mirror. He held back a smile. There was something strangely endearing about seeing her flustered. Perhaps it was because she seemed so confident most of the time; clearly, Charlotte could be a good actress when she wanted, so it was like being allowed to share a private, unguarded moment with her. Considering how much effort Charlotte put into manufacturing what he thought of as her 'Maiden personality', Saizo felt quite privileged.

"Sorry for snapping," she said, after a few moments had passed.

Saizo realised he had been mindlessly watching Charlotte brush her golden hair. He must've made her feel like he was expecting some kind of response. "I didn't mean to make you feel like you should apologise," he assured her. "I was just wondering if you were alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just annoying, that's all." Charlotte studied herself in the mirror, pulling at a few of her curls before smiling. "Let's talk about something else."

Saizo was meant to be working on his report, but he supposed there wasn't any harm spending more time talking with Charlotte. He wasn't sure if this was what Kagero had meant when she said that Charlotte ought to be 'comfortable' with him. Then again, Saizo's working relationship with Charlotte had never _really_ been professional. That probably ought to bother him a little more.

"We talked about my parents already," Charlotte said. "So? What about yours?"

"They're both dead," Saizo replied.

She froze in the middle of removing her make up, leaving one half of her face strangely painted. "...Oh. Uh, sorry."

"You couldn't have known," he said. "It's… fine. It's been a long time."

It wasn't really fine at all. He still remembered the day his father had died. For twin brothers, he and Kaze had never been close, but Saizo thought he had genuinely scared Kaze that day, when he hadn't been able to grieve at all, only to be furious beyond all reason.

Saizo didn't know if Charlotte would think less of him for his reaction. He told himself it wasn't an appropriate topic of conversation anyway… even though Charlotte had already shared something personal. He tried to find another topic. "My… family has served the royals for some time. My father was a bodyguard to King Sumeragi."

"And that's why you called yourself Saizo the Fifth?"

He nodded. "It was the first thing that sprang to mind. I only became a professional hero because Prince Ryoma decided to start his own agency." Charlotte snorted. Saizo could understand her frustration, as she must have worked hard to be able to start _her_ agency. "Traditionally the eldest prince enters the military, but Prince Ryoma wished to serve the people more directly."

"And what about you?"

"...I'm sorry?"

"Well, I heard a lot of 'my family' and 'Prince Ryoma', but not very much _Saizo._ " She paused. "Apart from all the other Saizos in your family."

He smiled. "I'm satisfied with where I am."

"Hmm." Charlotte frowned, unconvinced. He supposed it must seem strange to someone who'd spent a lot of time trying to get away from their family's expectations. But she didn't press the issue, because she suddenly glanced at the clock and froze. "Is that… accurate?"

"As far as I'm aware."

She groaned and put her head in her hands. "I'm supposed to trade off patrol with Rinkah in five hours! Ugh, I have to get home, get some sleep, get changed..."

A thrill of alarm shot through Saizo. "Can you not ask her to stay on a few hours longer?"

"She's already done twelve hours today with her dad's agency." She saw something in his face and smiled wanly. "Don't look so worried. I've worked on less sleep before."

This did not reassure him. He followed Charlotte as she quickly gathered up her things and made for the door. "You need rest. I can ask Kagero to cover for you. Or Orochi—" Even though it would kill him to ask Orochi for a favour.

"It'll be _fine,_ " she insisted, rolling her eyes.

They were already at the door. Charlotte paused as she opened it, kissing Saizo's cheek. He completely forgot what he intended to say next.

"It's very sweet of you to worry," she said, and closed the door behind her.

Saizo found himself standing there uselessly for some time.

* * *

The doctors put off waking Benny from his induced coma for another several days after the date Charlotte had taken off, but Saizo changed her leave without comment. He was really much less of a jerk than she'd first thought, even though he could be seriously infuriating when he wanted to be.

Rinkah was at the Knight and Maiden Agency for the day, so it was just Charlotte in the waiting room. She pressed her hands very firmly against her thighs, resisting the urge to bite her nails. It had taken her ages to break that habit after high school; she didn't want to start again now.

She took out her phone to have something to keep her hands busy, only to find she had a text from Saizo.

 _Let me know if you need more time._

It was a short and perfunct thing, but it make her smile to know her was thinking of her.

After a while, a nurse stepped in. "Miss Black?"

Charlotte stood and was led down two corridors and an electronic door which the nurse used a badge to open.

"He's still very groggy, so don't be surprised if he is a bit confused or if he falls asleep. And try to avoid stressing him out."

Charlotte was definitely waiting for another time to mention the undercover mission to Benny. "Of course."

Even though Benny had lost weight from being confined to a bed for a month, he had trouble focusing on her, and his welcoming smile was interrupted by a yawn, Charlotte felt like she could breathe easy for the first time in weeks.

"Hey," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"

Benny paused. "...Heavy," he decided eventually.

Charlotte laughed and took his hand. Benny's fingers curled around hers reflexively. "So, no different to normal?"

He laughed, too, although it turned into a brief cough. "I guess."

He was only able to stay awake for a few more minutes, but Charlotte felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She felt buoyant as she left the hospital, as light as a feather. She texted Saizo.

 _He's awake!_

 _I gathered that was the point of this meeting, yes._

But a moment later, he added:

 _All is well?_

 _You sound like you stepped out of a fantasy novel. But yes, the drs say he's going to be fine. He's pretty out of it right now, though._

 _I'm glad for you._

Charlotte smiled.

 _Thanks, Saizo._

* * *

From a professional point of view, Saizo felt that things were progressing well. Charlotte was doing an excellent job of ingratiating herself into the NNF; she'd met with Mikail a few more times, and seemed to have made a good impression. He'd been hinting that the NNF were planning something to win back some of the support they'd lost recently and he wanted Leticia to be a part of it, which might mean their first real opportunity to discover more about the connection between the NNF and the Black Bomber.

It was just that it was beginning to wear on Saizo that most of his 'interactions' with Charlotte were him listening to conversations where she pretended to be full of hate. He found that he'd become accustomed to their discussions after Charlotte finished with the NNF; had begun to look forward to them, even. Saizo missed her gentle teasing and her strongly worded complaints about Drew and the NNF as a whole.

Of course, he understood why she was too busy to spend time with Saizo. Knight was finally awake, but he still needed a lot of support to recover from his injuries. He couldn't begrudge that Charlotte would wish to spend this time with her friend.

But as the days stretched on into weeks, Saizo found himself getting more and more agitated. As distracted as she was, even Charlotte noticed.

"Are you… alright?" she said one evening.

"Why would I not be?"

She frowned at his defensiveness. "You just seem… I don't know. Tense."

"...I supposed I'm impatient to see some results on the mission," he replied, finding a plausible excuse. He didn't want Charlotte to feel at fault.

He didn't think she was convinced, but he saw her checking the time. She would have to leave soon to make it to Knight's first physical therapy session. Saizo's hands curled into fists before he forced them to relax.

Charlotte ultimately didn't press him further. "Remember you can talk to me if you need to blow off steam. Gods only knows you've sat through enough of _me_ yelling about things."

"That's kind of you, but it's not necessary."

She was still frowning when she left, and kept pausing on the way out, as though giving him the opportunity to say something.

But eventually she did leave, and Saizo was left with a strange mix of regret and relief.

* * *

Charlotte felt her phone buzz whilst she waited for Benny to finish physical therapy.

 _Did it go well?_

Saizo again. He seemed to be texting her a lot recently, which was more sociable than she expected from him. Maybe he just took a while to warm up to people.

 _Benny's not out yet. I'll let you know._

 _And you?_

Charlotte paused before replying. There _had_ been something bothering her. And it wasn't like she could talk to Benny about it… well, she could, but she didn't want to distract him from getting better. Right now, Benny needed to focus on himself.

 _He asked me not to come in with him. Is that bad?_

Saizo replied quickly. _Perhaps. Physical therapy is painful and often embarrassing, so it could be he was worried you would think less of him._

She was ready to start fuming that Benny could _ever_ think she would think less of him for such a thing, but then another message came through:

 _But from what you said about him, it's more likely he was just worried you would be upset._

That was exactly the sort of considerate, noble thing Benny would do. That jerk!

 _I'm going to yell at him when he's better,_ she sent to Saizo.

 _Yes, it'll be nice for him when things are back to normal._

Charlotte snorted and was about to send something sarcastic back when she heard the familiar rumble of Benny's voice. Quickly, she typed, _He's out, gotta go!_ and tucked her phone into her pocket.

Benny noticed as he was being wheeled out by a nurse and looked disappointed. "Do you have to go into work?"

"No," she said. "We were just chatting."

"Oh." He smiled. "I'm glad you guys are friends. He seems nice."

"You haven't met him properly," Charlotte replied automatically, but she was suddenly worried what Benny _would_ think of Saizo. The sneaky bastard was not exactly great at making a first impression. Not that it really mattered what Benny thought of Saizo, but…

She put the thought out of her mind and wrapped her arms around Benny's shoulders. "Don't worry, though, you're still my favourite!"

Benny patted her back, then coughed. "Ow."

Charlotte drew back. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Benny said. She narrowed her eyes. "Well, it hurts a bit. But they said that was normal!"

"Hmm." Charlotte accepted this for now. "Just don't push yourself. Rinkah and I can handle things until you're _completely_ better."

Benny nodded, but she suspected this wasn't the last time they would have this conversation. He was always putting others before himself.

 _If he overdoes it, I'll just get Rinkah to yell at him,_ she decided. _That'll show him._


	6. Chapter 6

The NNF's attempt on the prince's life had gotten them more attention from the ringleaders back in Nohr, and Mikail got himself a promotion. This explained why he was swanning around in fancy clothes but the chapter's headquarters was the top two floor of a near-abandoned apartment complex.

"We've improved security a bit," Drew explained as they climbed the stairs (the lift was broken). There were guards posted intermittently up the staircases, a few of them nodding to Drew as he passed. Maybe there was some logic to their choice of HQ; if this were any other neighbourhood, someone would've called the police by now. "The police have been looking into us closely, although they can't prove anything."

He looked smug. _I wouldn't count on that,_ Charlotte thought, but she kept her vaguely-curious facade. This was actually the closest they'd come to admitting to a part in the attempt on the prince's life. She might as well attempt to dig into it a bit more for the sake of Saizo's reports. "This is about the…"

"The attempt on the prince, yeah," Drew said. "We got unlucky. That, by all rights, _should_ have come off perfectly."

She was surprised by how easily he admitted it. It must've showed on her face, because Drew laughed and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we're among friends here."

"Of course," Charlotte said, smiling briefly to cover her unease. She let the smile fade after a moment. "...They all died, didn't they?"

Drew paused on the next stair, before hopping up the whole flight with an exaggerated spring in his step. "Yeah. Sylvestra was a good friend of mine. Of course, their dedication was… but it's not really… the desired outcome, losing so many at once."

Sylvestra? Ah, the one woman of the group. Maybe that was the reason he hadn't pressed for much of a physical relationship. Charlotte hadn't even had to give her "waiting until marriage" excuse. So there was that to be grateful for.

 _He wasn't in mourning for long, though, was he? I guess nationalist women who'd put up with his intellectual bullshit are thin on the ground._

More importantly, something about the way he said 'the desired outcome' made her worry. "Drew…?"

"Not here," he said shortly. "It's need to know only. Safer than way."

Charlotte nodded and did her best to conceal her mounting horror - a little trepidation would be understandable, but only a _little._ She was supposed to be inured to casual talk of assassinations by now.

Were they planning to try again? She'd have to talk to Saizo as soon as possible. The slow and steady approach may not be enough here. They'd need to—

Charlotte clenched her fists to steady herself. _Head in the game, girl, you can't be found out now._

Her mask was back in place by the time they reached the top floor. Only Baz stood at the door - Charlotte had only met him in person once. He could charitably be described as 'a man of few words'.

Was it possible they already suspected her…? It would be a good place for a fight; her isolated and surrounded by enemies. Saizo would be able to get to her in minutes, but they couldn't know _that,_ and even he would have to fight his way through the dozen guards.

But there was nothing suspicious about Drew's encouraging smile, and the fact that Baz only tilted his head towards the door was in character for him, so she entered.

"Leticia!" Mikail greeted her with a smile and raised her hand to kiss it.

 _For Gods' sake, man, if this really the time for flirting?_

"Mikail!" she protested, drawing her hand back when she judged he wouldn't be offended.

"Ah, sorry, you're right." He held his hands up placatingly. Then his expression grew serious. "Baz?"

Charlotte heard Baz's voice, muffled, give some final orders before he stepped into the room and locked the door.

Mikail led the way to a large table in the middle of the room. A detailed map of the city had been spread out over it.

"Leticia, you weren't here then, but I assume Drew has filled you in." Mikail's eyes flickered over to her. Charlotte nodded, and he continued, "That was… rushed. We saw an opportunity and we took it. We lost more than they did."

Their faces were grim. Charlotte attempted to match the mood with a downturned expression, but inside her heart sank like a stone.

Mikail clenched his fists. "With the help of our benefactor, things will be different this time. I'll do better. We'll _all_ do better."

 _Gods, he's serious!_

It occurred to her that if you were into this whole blowing-up-Hoshidans nonsense, he was actually sounding quite inspiring. 'Leticia' probably ought to have stars in her eyes. But Charlotte was close to throwing up so she settled for merely looking nervous.

Mikail turned to look at her with imploring eyes. Charlotte was frozen. "That's where you come in, Leticia. With your endurance quirk, you can be our man on the ground. You can make sure we don't lose anyone else."

When she had asked about Leticia's quirk, Saizo has suggested she just pretend to have an 'endurance' quirk. After all, whilst she could pretend not to be able to lift things, if she was - gods forbid - in an accident whilst undercover, it would be difficult to explain how she escaped with minor injuries.

She didn't think they would actually find a _use_ for Leticia's power.

"Me?" Charlotte managed to choke out, realising she had let the silence go on too long.

"That's right," Mikail said. He touched her chin gently, just like Saizo had done a few weeks ago, and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to recoil in disgust. "We can't tell you who else is contributing as a security precaution, but here's the plan…"

* * *

Saizo had already been pacing rather uselessly for half and hour, having exhausted every other method of distraction, when Charlotte walked in the door. She sank against it as soon as it was closed, burying her face in her hands "Saizo—"

"I already called an emergency meeting," he said.

She just made a noise.

Saizo stepped forward, making his movements obvious. She seemed spooked, but was perfectly happy when he sat down next to her.

"You did great," he said. "We'll stop them before it ever gets to that point."

Charlotte didn't immediately answer. Instead, she grabbed Saizo's hand, lacing their fingers together. Saizo stared, feeling his heartbeat in his throat. He suddenly very much wanted to kiss her hand.

 _This is not the time._

"Charlotte?" He managed to keep his voice steady, although he couldn't look away from their entwined fingers.

"I have been _this close_ to throwing those guys out a window this _whole evening."_

Saizo relaxed. That was more like her. "Yes, and all those guards you were talking about would've been on you in a minute. It's not worth it."

"Would've stopped their plan," she grumbled.

"It's not worth it," Saizo repeated, with more feeling than he meant.

Charlotte looked at him for a long moment. He forced himself not to look away, which would only draw more attention to how his voice had cracked over the thought of her putting herself in so much unnecessary danger.

"I guess so," she said softly. She brightened. "Anyway, I might still get my chance."

"We're supposed to take them in for questioning."

"So I'll only throw them through a small window."

Despite everything, Saizo laughed.

She smiled back, her eyes lighting up for a moment. Perhaps not quite her usual self, but closer than she'd been when she came in. "If you're waiting for me, I'd better get into normal clothes."

But Charlotte didn't get up immediately. Saizo was very aware of her body heat against his side. She squeezed his hand gently.

"Thanks, Saizo."

"You don't have to thank me," he eventually said. "Any time."

Then she left. He stayed sitting, mentally cursing himself. He'd been forced to listen to the NNF prattle on about a plan to murder the queen and Prince Ryoma and as many civilians as they could get their hands on, Charlotte humming along as though in agreement - he just needed to know it wasn't real. It was ridiculous and illogical but was there all the same. This mission had always been personal. With Charlotte it was just… more so. It wouldn't be fair to add complications to her life at this time. Saizo got to his feet, resolving to do better.

Charlotte linked her arm with his, making him jump. She hadn't taken the time to apply her own personal style of makeup as she usually did, showing the dark circles under her eyes. But tiredness was hardly enough to make her less beautiful and when she smiled, Saizo's heart skipped a beat.

"Well?" Charlotte arched an eyebrow. "Are we getting a taxi or what?"

Saizo managed to find his voice. "The prince sent a car. Let's go."

The car had been waiting for them, but it was still two in the morning by the time Charlotte and Saizo arrived at the Royal Agency for the meeting.

He'd known that Prince Ryoma, Kagero, and Orochi, as well as the Oni from the Flame Agency, were due to be present. He _was_ surprised to see Queen Mikoto at the head of the table. Saizo bowed to her and Charlotte copied him after a moment of shock. The queen offered them a weak smile as a greeting.

"You didn't mention _the queen_ would be here," Charlotte hissed in his ear, at once trying to sound threatening and pleasant.

"I didn't know," Saizo protested.

She frowned, but her shoulders relaxed just a touch. He nudged her again and they took seats at the end of the long table; Charlotte sat next to Oni, who whispered something in her ear, and Saizo took the seat at the end. He tried to catch Kagero's eye, but she was busy combing through some papers, and he instead found Orochi grinning at him. He glared back, but she only winked and mimed zipping her lips. Saizo scowled harder and looked away.

...He wasn't that obvious, was he?

Prince Ryoma cleared his throat. "Maiden, Saizo, welcome. Now that we're all here, let's start."

"Without a complete idea of the plan, it's difficult to know exactly where they will strike on the day of the coronation," Kagero said immediately. "Where are they planning to attack in the city? We can't cover all of it. Where will they strike against the prince and queen? During the parade? How do they propose to get past security? We could wait until they reveal more information to Maiden—" She nodded to Charlotte. "—but that risks compromising the safety of the royal family and civilians even more. Therefore, I suggest a raid on the NNF's headquarters to arrest as many as possible. They will also, I hope, provide us with testimony to arrest the Black Bomber."

The Oni snorted. "If they don't escape the country first."

"Can we suppress info about the raid?" Orochi said. "At least to give us time to pick up the trail. If we managed to arrest the leadership in without too much fuss, perhaps Maiden could put out some lie to keep the NNF quiet for a while…?"

It was strange to hear her referred to as 'Maiden' by everyone. Saizo hadn't realised how often he used her given name, but it struck him as obvious now. Maybe that was why Orochi had been giving him so many knowing looks?

Charlotte shifted in her chair. "I know that Mikail's bosses in Nohr are keeping a close eye on him. Maybe I could misdirect the rank and file, but I don't even know _who_ he talks to in Nohr. Besides, there's a reason the NNF are set up in that area; it has a high immigrant population, and if they aren't all sympathetic, they _are_ all paying attention. If none of the leaders showed up for a while, they would talk, and I assume our explosives guy would hear about it."

She seemed surprised when Queen Mikoto nodded in agreement. "I agree, it would be a delicate matter to avoid tipping him off. I would be surprised if this 'benefactor' doesn't already have his own people spying in the organisation or watching Mikail and the other leaders," she added.

"...That _is_ the queen, right?" Charlotte muttered to Saizo. She was still trying to keep a neutral expression.

"She has a colourful past," Saizo said.

"So we have to give up the lead on Black Bomber in order to take these guys in?" the Oni was saying, scowling.

Not that Saizo didn't disagree with her. The safety of the royal family, and the people, had to come first, but it was hard not to think of all the time Charlotte had spent ingratiating herself with those foul people for… not for nothing, as it had led to the discovery of this plot. But that, at the end of all of it, the Black Bomber might still get away was maddening.

 _It also gave you the chance to get to know Charlotte,_ something at the back of Saizo's mind said.

 _Not. The. Time._

"There's another option," Kagero said, bringing Saizo's attention back to the discussion, "but the timing would be delicate…"

She scribbled some notes on the paper in front of her. Orochi leaned over her shoulder and nodded, which Kagero seemed to take as a sign to continue.

"We could sneak into the NNF headquarters and copy their files, instead, giving us some time to get a lead on the Black Bomber before taking the NNF in. This mission would naturally have to be carried out in complete secrecy, but if successful, it would also have the advantage of eliminating any possibility of the NNF erasing useful data from their hard drives."

There was silence around the table. Saizo thought it was an ideal solution, and began planning who he would choose for such a mission. Charlotte, of course, would be working on the inside. Kagero's illusion quirk was eminently suited to such a role, and his own stealth abilities were not to be discounted. As much as he disliked her personally, Orochi would also be the ideal support agent with only a little time to bring her up to speed. The visions from her 'foresight' quirk were unpredictable, but valuable if one were to happen, and she would be more than adequate to lead them through the building.

"It would be risky," the Oni said, but with an air of interest rather than dismay. "We would need more information than we currently have, which brings us closer to the planned attack. And the party itself would have to be small, with backup far enough out not to draw suspicions. But it could accomplish both our goals at once."

Saizo thought the Oni was often over-cautious, so he was pleased to have an ally in this matter. "I don't believe this outside the realm of possibility. I think we should try it."

"We have less than _two weeks_ to plan this mission, Saizo," Kagero said. "The risks are as severe as the rewards."

"I'm happy to accept those risks—"

"But is Maiden?"

Saizo froze.

"We would be relying on her to provide us with more information on security," Kagero continued, although he saw by the slight narrowing of her eyes that she had caught his reaction. "She would need to press harder than before to get what we need in the correct time frame. This is the worst possible moment for the NNF to get suspicious—"

"I can do it."

Every head in the room turned to look at Charlotte, except for Saizo, who merely curled his fingers around the arms of the chair and tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white.

"Listen, I have Drew wrapped around my little finger by this point, and supposedly Mikail hand picked me for their plot." Despite her words, when Saizo glanced over he saw that the arm she was casually resting her head against was actually stiff with tension. "They're way too invested in the idea of Leticia to get too suspicious at this point. Anyway, the fact that they just dropped this thing in my lap so suddenly should be a good cover for _unusual_ behaviour."

The Oni was nodding along, grinning with approval. The queen, Prince Ryoma, and Orochi also looked pleased, albeit in a more subdued fashion. Only Kagero was impassive, watching Saizo carefully. She inclined her head slightly as he met her eyes. Saizo understood. _We'll talk afterwards._

Prince Ryoma exchanged a look with the queen. After a moment of silent exchange, he nodded. "I will tentatively approve this plan. Maiden, whilst I understand there are dangers, Saizo's reports have nothing but glowing praise for your skills. If you say you are confident, I trust your judgment. Saizo, I'm leaving you in charge of formulating a plan of attack. Make use of Kagero's input whenever you need; Kagero, I know you're still assigned to security for the coronation, but I want you to consider this a priority."

At that, Kagero frowned, but she nodded after a moment.

Hearing the prince compromising his own safety for the sake of the mission should've concerned Saizo, but it felt very distant at that moment. He felt that he ought to raise an objection, even though he couldn't think of any logical one; what had seemed like a sensible plan a few moments ago now seemed far too risky to support.

Charlotte wouldn't thank him for such thoughts, and Saizo was ashamed of having them - he knew she was capable. It was an insult to her as a professional to want to protect her in such a way. But the thought of her being hurt because of one of his reckless plans made him feel nauseous.

Since everyone was too tired to really consider the practicalities beyond the prince's orders, the meeting broke up. Queen Mikoto approached Charlotte as people started to leave; she gave Saizo a deer in the headlights look over the queen's shoulder.

'Just act normal,' Saizo mouthed.

He wanted to stay - to offer more support, maybe, or just to be close to her, but Kagero tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Let's talk."

It was probably for the best, anyway, despite the faintly betrayed expression Charlotte gave him as he was leaving. He clearly wasn't in his right mind when it came to her. Hopefully a night's rest would solve the problem.

Hopefully.

Kagero started to lead Saizo to their office. Orochi kept pace with them until they reached the lift. Yawning, she hit the call button. "See you at home, Kagero." Saizo had hoped to escape with nothing more than a cursory goodbye, but as the lift arrived, she added, "Oh, and Saizo - don't stress so much. She's totally into you, she just doesn't want to admit it yet."

Saizo gritted his teeth because if he started shouting now he wouldn't stop for an hour. As as much as Orochi's comment was unwelcome, she wasn't deserving of such a response.

He only realised that Kagero had been watching his reaction when he turned around and found her winding a part of her hair through her fingers. It was a tell she normally suppressed; when Saizo raised an eyebrow, she stopped and smiled ruefully before tucking the strand of hair behind her ear.

They walked in companionable silence to their office. It was only a few minutes, but he already felt more relaxed. Their office was a cramped space with the two of them, all of their files, and a collection of Orochi's snacks. Others might have called it artificial, since outside of the space Orochi had stolen, there were no personal touches in the room anywhere. To Saizo, though, it was comfortable; Kagero was the most dependable person that Saizo knew. They'd been partners for many years and the space always reminded him of her.

Kagero kicked out two chairs they kept next to the wall for visitors, gesturing at one of them. She went to get two glasses of water, and came back with a question forming on her lips. Saizo already knew what she was going to ask. "I apologise for not telling you—"

"There's no need to apologise. I know you value your privacy." Kagero handed him one of the glasses and took a seat. "I already suspected, anyway."

He digested this for a moment. "...It was her name, wasn't it."

Kagero nodded. "You're so formal with most people; it stood out immediately." She frowned. "I do wish you'd come to me when it began to trouble you."

"It wasn't troubling me until today—"

Kagero cut him off. "Saizo, we know each other too well to do this."

He fell silent. Well… yes, he had been _bothered_ by Charlotte not having the time for him - not that that was something he faulted her for; Knight's recovery understandably was her priority - but those weren't to the same level as…

"I thought I could… handle it," he said. "I mean, as well as the mission, there's Knight to think of - they're as close as you and I, so it's been difficult for her."

Kagero's expression softened at the comparison.

"It wouldn't have been right to…" Saizo grimaced. Even if it was Kagero, it felt uncomfortable to say it out loud. "...to _express interest_ at such a time."

"Of course."

"You're right, it had been— _weighing_ on me. A little. But I was aware these were irrational feelings and they were easy enough to dismiss."

"And by dismiss, you mean you told yourself it was wrong to have them."

Saizo wasn't sure how to answer, and sipped his water instead.

He didn't know why he bothered; Kagero saw through the delay tactic immediately and sighed. "Let me guess. You were jealous of the attention she was giving Knight. You were angry at her for not paying more attention to you. You also missed her and wanted her to be well. But at the same time, a major part of your time with her was when she was pretending to be someone else, to have feelings for another person, and it made you feel insecure."

He wished to correct her but could not.

"It's not shameful to _have_ those feelings, Saizo." She leaned over and squeezed his hand, a tiny smile showing in the corners of her mouth. "It would've been shameful to act on them, and you were correct to give her space at a difficult time. But you _also_ needed space away from the mission and the stress of having to keep your feelings a secret. I know I've been busy, but I would still have made time for you, you know."

"I know," Saizo said. "But…" _I didn't want to need it._

That was always his problem, at least in Kagero's opinion. He thought of it as 'being independent', but she considered it 'unhealthy isolation'. He had not been at the office as much as usual, either, which was normally when Kagero would take it upon herself to stage an intervention.

"I don't understand," Saizo admitted. "I thought… when _we_ were together, it wasn't a problem. I was confident it wouldn't interfere with my work. But—"

He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence and admit, out loud, that he had wanted to sacrifice the good of the mission - the good of all the Black Bomber's potential future victims! - just so that Charlotte could be slightly safer.

"Well, we already had an established partnership," Kagero said. "You and Maiden have only gotten to know one another on this mission, so naturally you don't have any patterns of behaviour to fall back on. Additionally, at the moment, you _only_ know her in the context of the mission."

Saizo thought of all the parts of herself, her past, that Charlotte had shared with him, and frowned.

"It never occured to you, for example," Kagero said, "to meet outside of work as friends. A… film night, perhaps. You enjoy classic cinema."

Classic cinema with Charlotte? It all seemed very… domestic. "I can't imagine that."

"Which is a problem if you do want to pursue a relationship with her later. Of course you'll have to do normal things together or you won't be able to sustain a relationship."

It had occurred to Saizo that Charlotte might not be interested in him; it had not occurred to him that a relationship might fizzle out and die even if she was. "You don't think it… would work between us?" he asked carefully

Kagero winced. "I'm sorry, that sounded worse than I meant. Orochi explained this so much better…" She shook herself. "I didn't discuss your private business with her, of course, but—"

"She has a tendency to give her opinions unasked."

"True." Kagero smiled. "Anyway, Orochi said… that she thought the two of you were very compatible, you would just need time to 'unwind a little'. She is better at these things than I am, so I'd take her at her word."

"...Orochi has barely met Charlotte."

"No, but she _is_ quite good friends with Rinkah, who has been working with Charlotte closely for some time now."

Saizo paled. He'd always thought of Orochi and the Oni as such unlikely friends, he'd completely forgotten that Orochi and Charlotte had her in common. "Oh, gods. She's already planning our wedding, isn't she?"

Kagero laughed. "She _has_ been eyeing up bridal magazines with a determined look. I'll keep her sensible about it, I promise."

He hoped very fervently that Orochi was planning to propose to Kagero, and all the interest in Saizo's hypothetical wedding was a cover. He would trust Kagero with life and limb, but she was flat out incapable of reigning in Orochi's excesses.

It would not be prudent to say that out loud, especially as Kagero had been kind enough to lend him her ear despite the late hour and all the other demands on her time. "Thank you," Saizo said.

Kagero smiled. "Anytime."


	7. Chapter 7

Despite the confident front she'd posed at the meeting, Charlotte was a little nervous about approaching the NNF.

"You do good work," Rinkah said. "It'll be fine."

"I could—" Benny began to say.

He was silenced by a glare from Rinkah. She'd completely blown her top when Benny strained his shoulder after a physical therapy session and had taken it upon herself to 'keep him in line', as she said. Charlotte thought it was a defence mechanism; Rinkah had come to the fight with Benny, but she'd only come out with a few cuts and bruises and a singed costume. As much as she could be… abrasive… she took her responsibilities very seriously.

And of course Charlotte's attention was split with the NNF mission, so she was grateful for any help right now. She was actually working on it right now; at least, she was supposed to be.

She let Rinkah and Benny's conversation wash over her - it sounded pretty one-sided - as she stared down at her texts with Drew on 'Leticia's' phone, wondering what to say. It had to be phrased delicately, because there was so much room for misinterpretation over text, but at the same time, it couldn't look too composed, or Drew might suspect her of ulterior motives for asking to get into the NNF headquarters again. His mind would probably jump to flirting with Mikail rather than her being an undercover hero, but that wasn't a setback she could afford either, at this point.

Her own personal phone was beside her, with an equally blank message box. Charlotte had meant to ask Saizo for advice, but somehow _those_ words wouldn't come out right, either.

 _Why is this so difficult? With Saizo, at least I don't have to worry about ruining some kind of important mission._

But even so, it did kind of feel that way, and it left her paralysed. Which was a problem, as she'd already been here an hour mulling over what she wanted to say uselessly; she was very aware of the clock ticking.

"Oh, for gods' sake," Rinkah said, and Charlotte's phone disappeared out of her hand before she could react.

"Hey!" She made a grab for it, panicking at the thought of Rinkah sending something rude to Saizo. _What if he thinks it was me?_

Benny made a sharp intake of breath suddenly and Charlotte diverted. He was clutching his arm, the one that had been the most badly injured.

"Are you okay?"

"Sent it!" Rinkah announced.

Benny relaxed, and Charlotte blinked at him for a moment before realisation dawned. "You sneaky—"

He gave her his best apologetic smile, shrinking a little under her glare.

" _What!_ "

Charlotte barely turned around before Rinkah threw the phone in her direction with a disgusted look, flopping onto the sofa next to Benny and folding her arms violently. Charlotte had not even known something as simple as folding your arms _could_ be done violently.

Rinkah had sent, _Help! I don't know what to write to Drew!_

 _Give Charlotte her phone back,_ was Saizo's reply.

She started to laugh.

"I swear, that man must have your place bugged," Rinkah said, still sulking.

"Maybe you're just predictable?"

Rinkah did not deign to answer, picking up the TV remote and starting to flick through the channels. Charlotte's phone buzzed again.

 _...That wasn't actually you, was it?_

 _Of course not,_ she sent back. _I am a bit stuck, though._

 _I'm not surprised, if people keep distracting you whilst you're working._

 _Rinkah isn't reading over my shoulder, you know._

 _Oh._ She imagined his disappointed expression. _Well, that's one bad habit she hasn't picked up from Orochi, I suppose._

 _What has she done now?_

 _It's better that you don't know._ A few moments later, Saizo added, _She isn't AS bad as I make out. But she is very good at getting under people's skin._

 _By people, you mean yourself?_

 _I was including myself, yes._

 _I dunno, nobody else seems to have a problem with her. Maybe it's just you._

 _I'll put itching powder in your wig._

It was such an absurd thing to say that she burst out laughing, drawing another glare from Rinkah on the sofa. Benny smiled for some reason, but maybe it was because Rinkah had stumbled across a nature documentary about bears.

 _This is workplace harassment, I'll have you know._

 _Well, I'm sure you could have a field day in court with your helpless Maiden routine. You'd have them eating out of your hand in no time. It might actually be worth getting sued just to watch you._

Charlotte laughed again.

 _For the benefit of Orochi, who is reading over my shoulder,_ Saizo's next message said, _I will add that that was a joke. Don't sue anyone. Certainly not me._

 _You ruin all my fun!_ Charlotte replied. _But since this is WORKPLACE harassment, I suppose I'd better actually get back to work._

 _See you later,_ Saizo responded.

She couldn't remember why she had been so nervous about sending the first message. It seemed so silly, because when they got talking, it wasn't difficult at all. And best of all, she had a breakthrough on what to send to Drew. Honestly, it wasn't that hard - she'd just been overthinking it. In the end, it was almost like something she'd send to Saizo, except she'd dialled up the submissiveness by quite a margin.

 _I just remembered! You promised me I'd get a tour of the headquarters at some point. I know now isn't the best time, but I thought it might be good to meet more people in the NNF before the big day? I feel so awkward talking to people who've already been involved for years. Sorry if it's not a good idea._

Drew sent a reply within the hour, agreeing to the tour of headquarters. Charlotte grinned wickedly, already making plans for how to get him into talking about the security system in more detail.

She felt eyes on her, and looked up from her notebook to see Benny watching her. "I'm glad it worked," he said, but he seemed sad. He hesitated. "Just… be careful, okay?"

Rinkah seemed to have unbent a little as well, even though she was pretending to be engrossed in the bears hunting salmon. Charlotte smiled. So she'd only been trying to help in the end - but no doubt Rinkah would get defensive if she pointed it out. "I'm always careful," she said. "Imagine what you guys would have to say to me if I wasn't."

* * *

Charlotte's information gathering paid dividends. There were still unfortunate gaps in her knowledge - she hadn't been able to find out much about the lower floors, although she felt Drew had hinted the NNF had some stake in those, too. He'd said it as a reassurance, in a way that made it difficult for Charlotte to press the issue. Still, Saizo said the building's blueprints were on file at the constituent council, so they would know the layout of every floor.

The top two floors, however, Charlotte was able to visit, and explore within reason. The lower floor was opened up and mainly given over to a meeting room and storage of things like maps. Drew never said as much, but from the old fittings and a stray - albeit dented - wardrobe, Charlotte was pretty sure this had once been Mikail's home and the NNF had yet to find a new use for it. Upstairs, though, was still the command centre for the Hoshidan NNF, and was sure to be an absolute treasure trove of information… if Saizo and Sting could get there.

There was also an attic space, but when Charlotte asked if there was anything up there, Drew just shrugged. "You'd have to ask Mikail."

It was entirely too casual; she pretended to lose interest, talking instead of the quirky attic bedroom her high school best friend had had, and how she'd always liked them since, until Drew was thoroughly disarmed.

Saizo was amused when she got back to the safe house. "That anecdote about the attic bedrooms had a ring of truth to it," he said. "Don't tell me…"

Her mouth twitched. "Yep. Benny actually lived in an attic room. It was hilarious; he had to stoop to do _anything_ in it."

He shook his head. "Benny again?"

"Well, who else?"

At that, Saizo frowned. "You must have had other friends."

"Not really," Charlotte said. "Most people, when they get to know the real me, don't like me all that much."

"But why?"

She paused in the middle of removing the wig to stare at him. He seemed genuinely confused. "You… have met me, right?"

"I like you just as you are."

Charlotte felt herself flushing. He sounded like he meant it, and she wasn't sure how to take that. "Well, you aren't exactly an angel yourself," she said, brushing it off, "your standards are skewed."

Saizo said nothing, but he smiled. He wasn't wearing his mask again, which he seemed to do around her a lot these days. She wished he wouldn't. Despite the scar over his eye, he was really quite handsome, which would be fine if she didn't like him a lot anyway. But he worked for Prince Ryoma - he literally _chose his hero name_ for the fact his family had served the royals for five generations. And even if he thought she was likable, she was still a Nohrian. Relations had improved, but there would no doubt be a quiet scandal if one of the prince's - no, king's, he'd be the king within the month - ninjas started dating one of their traditional enemies.

Charlotte had been vaguely aware of these feelings creeping up on her, and tried to reason herself out of them; of course, it didn't work like that.

"What are you and Kagero going to do after the coronation, anyway?" she said, curious despite herself. "Aren't you supposed to be his bodyguards?"

Saizo was quiet for a moment. "After much discussion, the prince impressed upon us how much he wished that the work at the Royal Agency would continue. Therefore, he asked that one of his siblings take over the agency. I will be splitting my time between the agency and working as the prince's bodyguard, and Kagero will be staying on as their deputy."

"Which sibling? Princess Hinoka?" The princess already had a successful career as a hero herself, although she mainly worked in the mountains with rescue units.

"No. Lady Corrin."

Charlotte's mouth opened and closed for a moment before she could find her voice. 'Lady Corrin' was Ryoma's stepsister, Queen Mikoto's daughter by her first husband - and, it was assumed, half-Nohrian, although it had never been outright confirmed as little was known about the queen's first husband. Corrin had not even lived most of her life in Hoshido; the attention of the press had been intense and unkind when Mikoto first married Sumeragi, and Corrin had ended up being sent to boarding school in Nohr.

Charlotte remembered watching it on television. Corrin hadn't been that much younger than she was, and Charlotte had felt sorry for her. She knew that Xander and his siblings had attended the same boarding school as Corrin, and they were all very close. Much speculation and sniping had been made by the press about this relationship, as well.

Leaving the Royal Agency to Lady Corrin was… definitely a bold statement.

"Your prince doesn't do things by halves, does he?" she managed after some time.

"He is serious about improving relations between our countries," Saizo answered evasively. "Naturally, I am trusting you to be discreet about this; nobody else outside of the agency knows, as of yet."

"Of course," Charlotte said, both pleased and alarmed to hear he trusted her so much.

 _It doesn't sound like Ryoma would be very upset if Saizo started dating a Nohrian,_ she noted. Charlotte filed the information away for later. Now was not the time for distractions, right before they were to start planning the infiltration.

* * *

On the day Sting and Saizo were supposed to come to the NNF's building, Charlotte was nervous.

On Sting's advice, Charlotte was not able to hear any of the conversation that passed between them, although Trickster - "Call me Orochi!" - had the benefit of being able to make use of the one-way microphone that Saizo normally had charge of. Orochi had winked and said, "Don't worry, you'll have your man back soon enough."

By rights, it should've gone smoothly. Sting could hide herself and Saizo with her illusions, and they'd picked a time of day when not many people were in the building. Charlotte's own excuse for being there was quite thin, and might expose her to some scrutiny, but she'd insisted that the ninjas needed to have _some_ kind of backup on hand if things did go awry, and, after a little arguing, Orochi had backed her up, which caused Sting to reconsider and meant Saizo was outvoted.

Honestly, Charlotte didn't think they would _really_ need help… but something about Saizo had felt a little… _off_ for the last few days. She wasn't sure if her being there would help, but it felt important to be near him.

"Maiden."

Charlotte twitched and slowly looked over her shoulder, wondering if it was just an off-handed comment. No one was looking in her direction, but the voice sounded familiar.

"It's Sting," the voice said again; it did sound a little like her, but the voice was a little off… an auditory illusion, probably. "Trickster tells us the guy with the sensory quirk is coming in now, so I have to go, but Saizo is still upstairs."

Charlotte smiled at someone as they passed, resisting the urge to respond to Kagero. He gave her a weird look. Her smile was probably quite strained.

"Just make sure he gets out, please." Sting managed to add a note of exasperation that perfectly matched Charlotte's mood. "I'll be with Trickster in case things go south."

She couldn't make a response, but she drifted out of the room, trying not to look too purposeful, and hoped Sting understood her answer. She had not yet been upstairs without Drew or Mikail's company and she wasn't certain that she would be allowed up that far; the top two floors were now guarded at all times. Gods only knew how Sting and Saizo had gotten up there.

Charlotte paused on the stairwell, considering. This building only had limited ways to move about and they were all covered by cameras, except the fourth floor, where the cameras needed to be replaced; they'd been slow about it because it was useful, Mikail said, to have one floor to conduct private conversations. She knew from the meeting that Sting's illusions only affected the human brain, and wouldn't work on machinery or animals - so how had they gotten upstairs?

She glanced out a window. To the back of the building was a tiny patio area overgrown by weeds, but out the eastern windows there was… not much of a view at all, as another building had been put up next to this one, blocking out most of the light on that side.

 _On the other hand…_

Making her way up to the fourth floor, Charlotte opened the door to one of the empty apartments which the NNF used as a kind of smoking and recreational area. It was deserted at 5AM, although there were still the remnants of a party that had taken place last night. Luckily, since she was such an important part of the assassination plot, her presence hadn't been required. "Get your beauty sleep," Mikail had said.

The room stank of sweat, cigarettes, and booze, and there was a suspicious patch of carpet which looked like someone had vomited on it. Charlotte wrinkled her nose and tried to breath through her mouth. On the plus side, she didn't have to worry that anyone would be able to smell traces of her perfume or something.

She opened all the windows, because _wow_ it smelled foul in there, and swung her legs outside of one. The alley below was dark and empty, not that she really expected anybody to look up anyway.

There was just enough space to put her feet, and but the next window ledge was a foot out of reach.

To jump or not to jump? _It's only two floors up. The worst that happens if I fall is that I have to pretend I 'accidentally' fell out a window, which'll be embarrassing._

Still, the second after she jumped to catch the edge of the window ledge seemed to last for a long time. Luckily, she caught it, and was able to open the window to give her leverage to haul herself up. Her heart was pounding, but when she glanced down, the first thing that struck her was not how far away the ground was but that she'd broken a chunk off the window ledge below when she jumped. The shards of it were scattered below but she hadn't heard it break. Adrenaline or Sting's input? Either way, she could probably blame that one on the party goers.

Luckily, the next floor was the one which Mikail used to inhabit, and since he believed he deserved better than everyone else, a juliet balcony had been clumsily attached to it. It looked a bit unsafe but it would be an easier grab than a window ledge, that was for damn sure. It was a little closer, too, so that she didn't have to put as much power into the jump in order to catch it, and this time, nothing broke beneath her. The balcony gave an awkward squealing noise, though, so she hoisted herself over it quickly, and ended up breaking the lock in order to get in. She was pretty sure it would be passed off as an old breakage that had been overlooked, or at least she was pretty sure no one would connect _her_ to it.

There was a direct staircase from Mikail's old space to the more sensitive documents upstairs, so she didn't have to brave the corridors or their cameras again. She hadn't even broken a sweat. Charlotte was rather pleased with herself overall.

Then Trickster's voice crackled in her ear. "Maiden! Mikail just pulled up outside."

She swore quietly under her breath and practically threw herself up the ladder.

Saizo must have gotten something from Trickster as well, because he was blinking like he'd just been distracted from a daydream. He was holding some kind of document in his hand so tightly that the paper was crumpled.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"What are _you?"_ he retorted. "I can take care of myself."

But he just sounded like he was going through the motions. She saw his eyes draft back towards the paper in his hand, and grabbed his wrist and took it from him. He jumped.

"What is it?" she asked, forcing him to think rationally again.

"Later," Saizo said. He became more business-like, casting his eyes over the room. "I was investigating the attic space, since you thought it was important. There wasn't a direct link to the Black Bomber, but I found an agent he works through. Attic again, I think."

"What?"

"No time to go back down," Saizo said.

He gave her a gentle shove in the direction of the loft door, and she hastily folded up the paper before shoving it into her jeans pocket.

"Guys—" Trickster's voice again. "I think I see the lift moving. Get out!"

"Calm down, woman," Saizo said, which Charlotte thought was an unreasonable response given that this had been his diversion in the first place.

She pulled her legs into the loft, remaining crouching because of the low, pointed ceiling, and flicked Saizo's nose when his head appeared after her. "Don't be rude."

He scowled at her. "What am I, a dog?"

"What did she do?" Trickster asked with interest.

Saizo pulled himself into the attic and closed the trap door behind them with some kind of device that he quickly tucked away into one of his pockets. "Radio silence, now."

"You coward!" Trickster cried, but the radio went dead after that.

"I swear—" Saizo began in an undertone.

Charlotte silenced him but pressing a hand to his mouth, hearing the echoes a familiar baritone voice. Saizo removed her hand with a raised eyebrow, but didn't speak again. The voices became clearer, although the words were still inaudible. Mikail and Baz, by the sounds of things.

Saizo tapped her shoulder, and pointed towards the back of the attic space. The room was not very dusty, so it must be used semi-regularly, but there were pretty clearly some boxes towards the back which had been shoved out of sight and left for some time. The dust was thicker back there, and Charlotte came close to sneezing a few times.

"How to get out?" she whispered to Saizo.

"Give me a minute."

"The window?" she suggested.

Saizo didn't reply. He was busy trying to open one of the boxes. Charlotte sighed, reached over, and simply tore the duct tape. He muttered something she couldn't hear, and lifted the lid. He froze.

Charlotte peered over his shoulder. The box was full of strange lumps of dark clay, roughly rectangular.

 _What the fuck. I don't care how stable they are, why would you store them here?_

"Window," Charlotte said. "Now."

"I was thinking of taking a sample."

If there had been room, Charlotte would've thrown Saizo over her shoulder and simply carried him. Stupid man. Instead, she poked him in the ribs and gestured towards the window. It was just about large enough for them to squeeze through the space, but it was also decorative, so it didn't open. They'd have to break it, but that would make noise, and Mikail and Baz were still talking below. Maybe they'd hear it, maybe they wouldn't.

 _Maybe I could try taking out the whole frame? If I can get the fitting lose somehow…_

He hesitated when she asked. "It might be safer to stay put. They don't seem to be coming up here."

" _Safer?_ We're surrounded by explosives."

"What?" Trickster blurted, despite the call for radio silence.

A moment later, Sting added, "The materials should be stable."

"You're all mad," Charlotte grumbled.

Eventually, Mikail and Baz left, and they were able to get out the (relatively normal) way of climbing down the side of the building.

* * *

Surprisingly, Saizo didn't say anything about the paper in Charlotte's pocket. She frowned at him, but decided not to comment. Kagero seemed to suspect something anyway. She kept leaving significant pauses in the conversation, as though expecting Saizo to say something. But he stayed silent, barely attending to the conversation at all.

Orochi nudged Charlotte whilst Kagero was trying to force Saizo to talk with the sheer force of her glare. "If I take her away, think you can stop him from doing anything _too_ stupid?"

Charlotte gave her a strange look. "What makes you think I can stop him?"

"Mitigate," Orochi corrected. "Anyway, sometimes he's too stubborn to take to the delicate touch."

"So you want me to try 'bull in a china shop'?"

"You said it, not me!" Orochi grinned.

Charlotte understood why Saizo found her annoying. Her teasing didn't seem to be serious, but it relied on tripping people up… _Does that even make sense?_

Orochi didn't wait for her answer, walking up to Kagero and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Come on! You're exhausted."

"But—"

"You can have it out with Saizo later," Orochi said, dragging her away.

Saizo blinked when they left, frowning to himself.

Whatever she thought about Orochi's advice, Charlotte was too stressed out to play around.

"So, what was the big deal with the paper? Why not tell Kagero?"

He glanced at her and then looked down. "I found the Black Bomber's agent."

She paused, but nothing else was forthcoming. _Orochi had a point, I think._ She took the paper out of her pocket. There was a name on it as well as a bunch of numbers - payments, she supposed - but it meant nothing to her. "Kotaro Shu? Who's that?"

"The Mokushujin ambassador," Saizo said tonelessly.

 _Well, that makes things difficult,_ Charlotte thought. And embarrassing; she probably _should've_ known—

"He's the man who killed my father." He tapped his scarred eye, almost absently. "And who gave me this."

Charlotte opened her mouth and closed it again. What the hell could she say to that. "And _he's_ the bomber's go between?"

"Kagero saved my life last time," Saizo said. "I can't let her do that again."

"Wait," she said. She felt disoriented, almost like being winded. "You're actually - you can't _go._ He has diplomatic immunity! You'll get in more trouble than I can even imagine."

"And what's the other option?" Saizo didn't even sound angry, merely resigned. A prickle of unease went up Charlotte's spine. "Go through official channels, giving Kotaro ample time to warn the bomber, rendering this entire exercise moot?"

"Better than risking your entire career!" Charlotte retorted. "There will be other ways to get the bomber; there's that huge stockpile! There will be fingerprints or—"

"That only works if he's already known to us."

She stared at him with growing horror. Saizo really was serious about this. He wouldn't meet her eyes, every line of his body tense.

Charlotte was furious. If there was something breakable in the room, she would've thrown it. How dare he, _how dare he,_ that selfish prick - she'd already come an inch away from losing Benny. Now she had to watch Saizo throw himself into danger because he couldn't just leave it alone, could he, he couldn't just let it be someone else's problem for once, _he_ always had to be the one putting himself in danger—

Before she knew what she was doing, she'd grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. "No."

His eyes were wide, but he scowled, determined. "No?"

Charlotte snarled. "You are _impossible,_ " she said.

And she pressed her lips to his.

Saizo made a noise of surprise that was lost, and then he kissed her back. His hand tangled in her hair and the other at her waist as he pressed close against her. Charlotte pushed back until he was against the wall. She wasn't sure if he even noticed, and she was losing focus herself. Saizo tugged gently on her hair to tilt her face a little higher, and she obliged, putting a hand to his cheek to pull him closer. There was barely a centimetre between them but it felt unbearable. Her hands were at his hips, under his shirt, and Saizo groaned, trailing his thumb down the pulse point at her neck—

And then he pulled back. Charlotte blinked, panting and seeing spots before her eyes. Their noses were still touching and she could feel his breath against her lips.

"Charlotte," he breathed, like it was the most important word in the world. His eyes were dark, and his breath hitched when she stroked her thumbs against his skin. He swallowed heavily and Charlotte had to kiss him again, long and slow. Her blood felt like it was burning, and for a moment she forgot everything except for Saizo.

Then she reluctantly withdrew, leaving Saizo standing there breathless for a moment.

"Do you know," she said lowly, "what it would do to me if you got hurt?"

He averted his eyes. "Charlotte—"

"That's why, _if_ you're doing this—" She waited a moment to see if he'd contradict her, but of course he didn't. "—I'm coming with you."

Saizo cupped her face in his hands. She could see how badly he wanted to say no, but he only sighed. "Alright."


	8. Chapter 8

"What happened with this Kotaro guy last time?" Charlotte said.

Saizo busied himself unrolling the blueprints of the Mokushujin embassy instead of answering. He'd 'acquired' them years ago, so they were a little outdated, but they would serve well enough with some additions.

She moved to stand at his shoulder. "Saizo."

He found now that he was painfully aware of Charlotte's presence in the room, more than ever before. It meant he couldn't give his full attention to the task, which was unhelpful to say the least, but at the same time, a small thrill shot through him every time he remembered she was there.

"It was ten years ago, shortly before King Sumeragi died. My father was investigating a drug cartel which Kotaro had a hand in." Saizo paused to swallow. His throat was tight and dry. It was difficult to talk about, even now. "So Kotaro had my father assassinated."

Charlotte didn't say anything, but she placed a hand over his and squeezed.

Saizo took a deep breath and forced himself to continue. "I was… angry." An understatement. He'd been so blinded by fury, channeling all of his grief into foolhardy plans for revenge, that he had barely been able to function in any other area of his life. "There was no proof linking Kotaro to my father's murder, but I was able to find some evidence linking him to the drug cartel. Stupidly, I decided to confront him with it instead of handing it over to the authorities."

"That _was_ stupid," Charlotte agreed.

Saizo cracked a smile. "It wasn't my brightest moment. Anyway, I tracked Kotaro down to his private residence. I thought he would be easy to take down." He ran a finger down the scar over his eye. "It didn't work out the way I planned."

"You escaped, though?"

"Almost didn't. My brother told Kagero what I was planning, and she managed to track me down. I was pretty out of it but I think she managed to convince Kotaro there was more evidence which she would release if he talked about me being there."

"He believed her, then?"

Saizo shrugged. "I suppose he must have. I had more to lose, but his position was easier to compromise."

She nodded, looking pensive. Saizo watched the way the curls of her hair bounced with the movement. _She really does look much better as a blond._ He wanted to reach out and touch her, but if he kept giving in to such impulses, he'd never get anything done—

Charlotte made the conflict moot by wrapping her arms around him, laying her head against his chest. Saizo let out a huff, but embraced her in return. It was… strange to be able to do this. It still seemed a little unreal. He was conscious of what Kagero had said, that he and Charlotte hadn't spent much time together in a _normal_ sense, and a part of him worried this was the wrong time, it would fall apart within weeks—

But he just couldn't _stop_ , or he'd collapse.

"Wait." Charlotte suddenly stepped back, holding him at arm's length and frowning. "You never told me you had a _brother._ "

Saizo blinked at her. A laugh bubbled up in his throat, but he suppressed it. Hysterical laughter would not be reassuring _at all._ "Kaze and I aren't very close. I haven't seen him for a few years."

That had started when Saizo went after Kotaro, too, but he didn't want to go into that right now.

"Oh," she said. She seemed troubled by this information. "Is he… close to your age or…?"

"Yes, quite close," Saizo said dryly, "as we're twins."

Charlotte gave him a gentle shove. "How was I supposed to know that?"

Saizo smiled, but he was distracted by the blueprints. Kotaro was a suspicious and careful man, and if there were signs of someone investigating either his personal home or the embassy itself, he'd undoubtedly increase security. They didn't _quite_ only have one opportunity to get this information, but it would be exponentially more difficult the second time. Perhaps if they could coordinate two separate raids…? But that would be tricky to manage, especially as this wasn't Charlotte's expertise. He could ask Kagero to help, but—

"Back to the serious stuff, I see," Charlotte said dryly.

He tensed, losing his train of thought. "I'm trying to work out where Kotaro would keep info on the Black Bomber," he said eventually.

"At the embassy itself, surely? The security there would be better."

"Yes, but they could also be discovered more easily."

Charlotte shrugged. "He's been at this for ten years, though, and no one's rumbled him. I'd say he's probably pretty overconfident, wouldn't you? Anyway, he's probably managed to get some of his personal lackeys on the staff by now."

"I suppose so," Saizo said.

The thought of Kotaro having free run of all the advantages that ambassadorship implied was troubling, but now was not the time to worry about that. With luck, whatever they discovered would be enough to persuade the government in Mokushu to remove him - but then again, they had no love of Hoshido, so perhaps they'd merely congratulate Kotaro and offer him a cushy retirement plan.

Still, Charlotte's reasoning was sound. He had been leaning that way himself, but his trust in his own judgement was… not at it's best in this situation.

Charlotte nudged him gently and grinned. "So, _Sneak,_ " she said, "how are we going to do this?"

* * *

The embassy itself was located in a mid-century townhouse on the banks of the river - originally, Saizo told Charlotte, intended as a snub. Hoshido had refused to recognise Mokushu's legitimacy before then, so it was not given an embassy in Castletown, but near the docks, which in those days had stunk of sewage and fish, as well as being noisy and crowded with the lower classes.

"I see it's had some money put into it since then," Charlotte said.

The embassy and all the surrounding houses were now decked out with exquisite balconies, there were expensive-looking speed boats and yachts moored in the harbour, and Charlotte's keen eye for money could not detect a single person in the vicinity in non-branded clothing except the council worker emptying the bins.

"Nothing gets past you, does it," Saizo said.

It was obvious which building was the embassy. Apart from the Mokushujin flag, there were security guards outside. Neither of them looked very impressive, which meant they probably had some kind of overpowered quirks, like mind reading or something.

"What are we here for?" she said. "I thought you had the blueprints."

"People," he said shortly. "Shift change… things we can't get from a piece of paper."

Charlotte made a thoughtful noise. _They're basically glorified bouncers. There should be a weak point_ _ **somewhere.**_

"That guy is new," she said after a while. "Doesn't look as bored as the other one. Avoid him; he'll be more alert."

Saizo nodded. "I recognise the other one. He's been with the embassy for years."

"Ah, a veteran." That wasn't much good either, really. Unsurprisingly, people who stayed at one place for many years tended to get good at their job (although Charlotte had had many managers, back in the day, who were the exceptions to that rule).

They sat in silence again for a while. The windows of the car were tinted, so nobody could see them, but Charlotte still felt conspicuous. She toyed with the ends of her hair. It was still too damn short.

"It looks fine," Saizo said.

"Obviously. It's mine." She sighed. "I just miss it being long, I guess."

"Why? Wouldn't it just be a hindrance in a fight?"

Charlotte snorted. "Says the guy who is blind in one eye."

He went tight-lipped, suppressing a smile. "Regardless, it's not the _most_ practical style."

"No, but I like it. If I can't do my nails I have to settle for having lots of hair to mess with." She glared at her short fingernails. She had barely even painted them since high school. What a waste. Then she remembered they were supposed to be watching the embassy, but nothing had changed since she last looked up. "Anyway, I bet you don't tell Kagero to cut her hair."

"I'm not telling you to do anything, I was just asking!" Saizo protested, relaxing and rolling his eyes when Charlotte just stuck her tongue out at him. "...To be honest, I've never really thought much about Kagero's hair."

"But you _have_ thought about mine?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing. I like your hair."

"I'm just teasing!" Charlotte couldn't resist grabbing another curl to twist around her fingers. "I think it's my best feature, actually."

He didn't reply, gaze fixed on the entrance. But after a moment, he said, "Can I ask you a personal question?"

She tried to give him an exasperated look - they were definitely at the point of being able to ask personal questions - but he didn't see it. She gave up. "Sure."

"You said a while ago that people don't like the 'real you'. What did you mean?"

"...What I said?" He turned to give _her_ an exasperated look, as though this response was inadequate, but she was genuinely unsure of what else to say. "Uh… I'm too… sharp? I guess."

When she didn't elaborate, Saizo seemed disappointed. "It just seems strange," he said.

"Well, people could say the same thing about you, you know. That you're not very likable."

Saizo pulled a face. " _Thanks._ "

"Wait, that's not what I meant!" Charlotte said quickly. " _Other_ people might say so, but I appreciate it."

"You appreciate me being unlikeable?"

She buried her face in her hands. _That didn't come out right, either._ "You're honest. Maybe too honest, but I don't have to worry about second guessing myself. You know, on the day we met, you said I was 'too smart' to waste money on those expensive teas, so _obviously_ I was doing it to play nice for the prince."

He grimaced. "Do you have to bring that up?"

"But it was true!" she said. "That's when I knew I could trust you."

Saizo seemed a little taken aback by this. "I made a better first impression than I thought," he said. He was pensive again - Saizo didn't seem to fidget when he was nervous like a normal person, but sometimes he overcompensated and went completely still, thrumming with tension.

Charlotte waited. After a while, he opened his mouth, only to hesitate. "I don't…" He paused and tried again. "I wouldn't want to…"

Her heart started to beat faster, and a number of unlikely scenarios crossed her mind before she dismissed them. That wasn't the sort of kiss you gave someone you were only half-heartedly interested in.

"This is all—sudden," Saizo eventually managed to say. "I don't want you to think I'm not pleased, because I am, but I wasn't planning to say anything to you until after the mission. It's… hard to adjust."

It was difficult not to take it as a rejection, even though she knew it wasn't. Charlotte did her best to school her expression into something sympathetic. She understood what he meant; she found him as easy to talk to as ever, but… nothing was different. That was supposed to be a good thing, normally, but in this case it felt like there was a distance between them, and she didn't know how to cross it.

Saizo studied her expression intently and reached over to take her hand. "There's time."

"...I know," she said, smiling weakly. It was only fair that he could see straight through her as well. "It's just… it would be nice for _something_ to go smoothly, you know?"

He snorted. "I know _that_ feeling."

Charlotte squeezed his hand once and then let go. With the air cleared, she felt some of the tightness in her chest fade away, even though she hadn't been consciously aware of it until now. Of course Saizo was right, and the mission came first. She just hoped she hadn't totally messed things up by leaping into action early. _Wait, no, that doesn't sound right at all._

She exhaled slowly, focusing herself. Planning to break into an embassy was really something that she should give her full attention. Charlotte was confident that this was _not_ what Orochi had meant when she said 'mitigate', even if it was better than Saizo charging in by himself with a grudge and a shit ton of personal trauma.

"I don't think the front entrance is the best approach, anyway," she said. "If we had more time, we might be able to invent a pretense to get in, but…"

Saizo betrayed no confusion at the sudden change of topic. "Perhaps."

And the house was in the middle of the row, so they couldn't even use the climbing gadget Saizo and Kagero used for the NNF headquarters.

"Although… this style of house…" Saizo said. "They used to have connected attic spaces - all across the row. Most of them have had walls installed since then, of course, as space is at a premium in this area."

Charlotte nodded. "An extra room can add ten percent value to your property."

This made Saizo pause for a second. "...Right," he said, dubiously.

Charlotte didn't think it was such a weird fact to know. She was just waiting for the agency to take off, then she would start being able to invest in property, doing up wrecks to sell on; after, she could funnel the profit back into the agency to start expanding.

"Anyway—" Saizo ploughed on. "I wonder if it's worth looking into?"

She'd already gotten her phone out of her pocket.

"You're not checking out the property prices, are you?" Saizo said.

"This is one of those areas that just keeps getting more expensive, right?" She typed the street name into a property website and was able to find the last several years worth of house sales. None of them went for below six figures. _Gods, some people._ But it wasn't what she was interested in right now. "Ah. it is. And the houses around here change hands a fair bit, it looks like."

Almost every house was listed as a four bedroom. Some of the recent listings were still up - number two had been sold only a few days ago - and the estate agents' photos showed that the fourth bedroom was indeed in the attic in those properties.

There was one house, however, that had not been sold for some time. Charlotte had to go to an entirely different website to find any information on it at all. Last sale had been eight years ago. There were no pictures after all this time, but it had been sold as a _three_ bedroom house!

She triumphantly handed her phone over to Saizo. He stared at it with some confusion, and it took her a second to twig that he was not able to follow her internal monologue. "They haven't converted the attic, and they're right next door to the embassy."

"Convenient…" Saizo muttered, glaring at the front door. Charlotte waited for him to elaborate, but he shook himself and just handed her phone back. "They're probably aware of it, but I can't imagine the security measures there are very extreme, especially if the neighbour is a known quantity. You're sure we can get through here?"

"It'll probably be boarded up, but if it's not been converted, it'll be easy enough for me to punch through," she said. "Won't even make that much noise."

Saizo nodded; he seemed to be into the idea now. "And that house will definitely have less security than the embassy itself. If we go in at the back, the high walls will prevent the embassy's security from seeing us break into the neighbour's house."

The idea of actually "breaking in" to somewhere had been alright enough when it was some self-styled mafia boss taking diplomatic immunity to its logical extreme, but the thought of intruding upon some poor random person's house made Charlotte uneasy. They were supposed to be Heroes, after all. _What would Benny say?_ It wasn't as helpful a question as she hoped. _He'd say, 'I trust your judgement', that's what._

But did Charlotte trust her own judgement? She wasn't totally sure. But she'd said she trusted Saizo, and she'd meant it. She couldn't keep second guessing herself just because there were all sorts of complex feelings tangled up in the case, in Saizo himself. If he said this was the best way, she'd believe him.

"When are we going in?"

"Tomorrow evening."

"That's… soon."

Saizo grimaced. "Kagero texted me earlier today. The raid on the NNF has been set for two days from now."

In other words, the day before the coronation itself. Charlotte let out a low whistle. "Well, at least they aren't the only ones cutting it fine."

"They were trying to look through the files for some clue to the Black Bomber's location, but they couldn't find anything," he said.

"There was a lot to go through. It was always a long shot." She paused. "We're not supposed to be participating, are we?"

"No, I made excuses." Saizo started to drum his fingers against the steering wheel. "Kagero told me not to do anything stupid."

"She knows you well, doesn't she?" Charlotte said dryly.

He didn't answer that. "She said Orochi had a vision."

Charlotte sat up a bit. Trickster's visions were easily the strangest quirk Charlotte had ever encountered, which was saying something after fighting the ram-headed guy. They were always accurate, but not always in a way that could be interpreted when Trickster received them. She'd become famous - even in Nohr - for predicting King Sumeragi's death before she was even out of high school.

The question sat heavily on Charlotte's tongue, but Saizo didn't force her to say it aloud. "She saw the spectre of death at the coronation. Over the royal family, over Kagero, and… you."

"Oh," Charlotte said. She waited for the panic to kick in. It didn't. She was just too exhausted to worry too much about it. "Well, I'll be careful."

"My father was in the vision she received about King Sumeragi," Saizo said. "But then so was Queen Mikoto's bodyguard, and she made a full recovery."

She decided to interpret this as a reassurance with a warning not to get careless. It was hard to get careless after someone had foretold her potential death, Charlotte thought, but she could see why he was worried.

"Have you been sitting on this since last night?" She didn't even wait for Saizo's reply, since it was obvious he had been. "Saizo…"

"I wasn't sure if telling you would make it worse or not," he said, turning his face away slightly so she couldn't read his expression. "Sometimes these things turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. But I… I just wanted to urge you to be careful."

He didn't mention Kagero, though the thought of that must be troubling him too. Charlotte wanted to promise it would all be okay, but she didn't think it would be much comfort to Saizo. Instead, she said, "Well, you know Orochi is going to be watching Sting like a hawk, now."

"I'd be disappointed in her if she didn't." He took a deep breath. "It's pointless to talk about this further. Just… don't do anything… reckless."

"Do you mean anything _else_ reckless?"

"This isn't a _joke!_ " Saizo shouted.

In the enclosed space of the car, it was painfully loud. Charlotte winced. Saizo looked surprised himself.

"Sorry," he said, quiet and low. Now she had to strain to hear him. "I just—I don't want meeting me to be something that kills you."

"You know that isn't true, though, right?" Charlotte said. "Anyone who goes pro accepts there's going to be risks. That's not your fault." He still wouldn't look at her. She sighed. _I know this is difficult for you, but you can't let yourself wallow._ "I was always going to be there with Xander, anyway. The world doesn't revolve around you!"

For some reason, Saizo laughed. It wasn't a particularly happy laugh; more like a wheeze. "That was particularly self-pitying, wasn't it?"

"Well…" Charlotte tried to hedge her bets. "You can take the blame for just about anything if you try hard enough." She'd done exactly the same thing with Benny, too, feeling responsible for his injuries because she wanted to make their name by working with Prince Ryoma, so it would be hypocritical of her to get mad at Saizo for it. "We make enough bad decisions on our own merit without trying to borrow more trouble."

"Do you think this is a bad decision?"

"I think I trust your judgment and I'm going to go along with it." She frowned at him, trying to make sure he got the message. "Maybe that _is_ a bad decision. But it's not one you forced me to make."

Saizo sat in silence for a moment. Charlotte worried she'd just driven him further into his own head, but after a moment, he gave her a small nod. "Alright, I take your point. I suppose I'll just have to focus on making good decisions."

The resolve seemed to make him more relaxed. Charlotte cracked a smile. He was strange, sometimes, but she couldn't help but admire his focus.

* * *

With the money these houses were worth, of course the owners could afford very elaborate and strong security systems. Like most people, though, they relied too much on the bold promises of what such a system could deliver without engaging their own common sense. The alarm system on the house next to the embassy was a top of the line model, only a few years old, but the owner had neglected to change the four-digit passcode from the default setting.

With the alarm disabled, nothing else troubled them inside. Later _,_ the security company would probably notify the owner that someone had entered the property with the correct code, but since he and Charlotte weren't planning to take anything, he didn't anticipate it would do more than unnerve the homeowner. Perhaps they would even be a bit more security conscious afterwards.

Saizo knew Charlotte was still uncomfortable with the idea of breaking into an innocent person's house. She surveyed each room before stepping over the threshold, and carried herself with almost exaggerated care. It wasn't ideal, of course, but Saizo was not so concerned. There was always a risk of damage to civilian property by heroes during the course of their world, which was a risk that people simply learned to cope with. This was the same thing morally, if not legally. Finding the Black Bomber had to be their highest priority.

They made their way to the top of the house. As Charlotte predicted, nothing had been done with the loft space, but Saizo was suspicious when the boards joining this property to the adjacent embassy were not properly fitted and could be taken out quite easily, leaving a space large enough for an adult to crawl through.

"It seems we're not the first ones to have this idea," Saizo murmured.

Charlotte examined the opening with a slightly nervous expression. "...Should we still go ahead?"

His first instinct was to say 'yes, of course', and if it was just himself at risk, he would've gone ahead in a heartbeat. But…

' _Be careful. Orochi saw a shadow over Charlotte as well.'_

There was a thin coating of dust in the loft, but not as much as there should've been for a space as little used as this. He looked through the gap in the wall, but the loft space above the embassy appeared to only be used for storage; he could make out the vague shapes of boxes and a stepladder. It was strange, in fact, that the owner of _this_ house didn't put the loft to similar use - the room was empty.

Kotaro was a cautious man, only more so after the pitiful attempt that Saizo made on his life. He found it difficult to believe that Kotaro did not take a serious interest in the embassy's security…

"I think," he said delicately, "that Kotaro makes use of this space somehow. Maybe to meet with his less savoury business associates without being seen."

"Do you think he'd expect someone to come through this way?" Charlotte asked.

Saizo shook his head. "There would've been more effort to conceal the entrance. He believes this secret is safe." Which meant that the owner of this house was in Kotaro's pocket, too. So much for 'innocent'. "We should still have the benefit of surprise."

"Right." Charlotte visibly braced herself. "I'll go first."

They crept through the building until they found Kotaro's office. It was obvious that it was his from the elaborate double doors and polished bronze handles - all period accurate, but ripped from other properties, as Saizo knew that no such features had been included in the original building. How very like Kotaro. The man was a human magpie, trying to make himself appear more impressive by taking whatever caught his interest.

The office itself was deserted, although still dimly lit. _Is he planning to work late?_ Saizo shifted uneasily. They'd have to work fast.

Charlotte was already making a beeline to the enormous desk that dominated the room, though not without some lingering looks at the antique furnishings and impressive art.

"I didn't think you would be into such old-fashioned furniture," Saizo couldn't help saying.

"Oh I'm not." Charlotte's gloved hands moved over the desk, flipping through papers. There was unlikely to be anything incriminating on the desk but it didn't hurt to try. "But just imagine all the _money_ you'd need to buy this stuff."

Saizo shook his head. _Incorrigible._

He began to look for a likely place for a safe. The west wall was too thin to conceal one, the north wall was full of windows, and the south wall was dominated by the grand entrance. That left the wall behind Kotaro's desk.

There was nothing behind the paintings on the wall - not that Saizo really expected there to be, that being far too common for someone like Kotaro - and he was a little at a loss where to look next.

"There aren't any false compartments in the desk," Charlotte announced. "Well, probably. I couldn't be more certain without ripping bits out."

The idea of destroying one of Kotaro's prized antiques was tempting despite being petty. But the goal, at least, was to get in and out without Kotaro ever knowing.

There was, however, an antique double-door drinks cabinet in the corner of the room. The bottom half was intended for wines, but when Saizo opened it, he found that the bottom two rungs were empty. Very unusual for a diplomat expected to entertain high profile guests and present an image of wealth and glamour.

There was a thin, imperceptible join in the wood, and the two rungs lifted out without a sound. Saizo felt around in the dark space for a moment, finding a hole he could fit his finger into. The bottom of the cabinet came out as well, and underneath, built into the floorboards, was a safe.

Saizo sprinkled an invisible powder over the digits, and grabbed a UV flashlight from his belt. The powder would stick to fingerprints and highlight them under a UV light, but was otherwise undetectable. Kotaro would likely assume that it was simply dust or grit.

Under the light, the numbers 1, 6, 9, and 0 had visible, overlapping fingerprints covering them. That was a possible… twenty-four different combinations. Saizo certainly didn't have time to try them all. What pass code would Kotaro choose? 16/09 would be the celebration of Mokushu's founding, but that seemed too obvious - everyone else in the embassy would immediately think of that date, too. Even if Kotaro had the embassy staffed with his own people who were aware of his less than legal business dealings, he was surely conscious that some of them would be tempted to try to usurp his position or blackmail him with the possibility of taking evidence of wrongdoing to the Prime Minister of Mokushu.

There was another number that jumped out at Saizo, although he wasn't certain of Kotaro's interest in it - 1906, the year of the fall of Kohga. Mokushu had done well out of its collapse at the time and, it was rumoured, had played a part in destabilising the country.

 _Well, I can hardly ask him for the code. Best to just try it._

He typed 1-9-0-6 and the safe beeped before it clicked. It wasn't that deep, leaving only room for an A5 notebook an inch thick, a handful of papers, some letters with no address on them, and two fake passports and driver's licences. Saizo made a mental note of the names for the benefit of future investigations, then took a quick glance through the notebook. It was an accounts book, detailed, and no doubt contained a much more accurate summary of Kotaro's earnings than he submitted to the tax office in Mokushu. Reluctantly, Saizo put it aside. It would be relevant to their current investigation, and might even give them a link to the Black Bomber's identity, but it would take too long to go through the whole thing.

The letters proved more promising. They were written by two different hands, neither of which Saizo recognised, but the content was a goldmine of information. The first was vague about identities but promised Kotaro 1,000,000 geld if he agreed to act as a go-between for "The Agent", forwarding him to contacts with "violent aspirations towards any elements within Hoshido". He tucked that letter into a pocket. The second seemed to be from the agent themselves, not as much detail, but incriminating all the same. Perhaps it could be used to trace the Bomber's location—

Footsteps in the hallway.

Saizo rushed to put the hiding place back together, keeping both letters for himself as Charlotte tidied the desk, leaving papers as she'd found them. The footsteps grew louder. Saizo moved to stand at Charlotte's shoulder. If they were found, he didn't want Kotaro to think the safe had been discovered; it would buy them more time. Maybe the person would bypass this room altogether…

No such luck. One of the doors opened and Kotaro Shu himself swept into the room. He didn't look much different than he had ten years ago when he killed Father, save for the few grey hairs at his temples.

Kotaro froze when he saw the two of them, eyes narrowing as he took in their appearance - dark clothes but no costumes. Not an official visit.

Saizo saw when Kotaro made this deduction, because the man relaxed, even going so far as to offer them as unpleasant smile. "I didn't realise I had an appointment. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."

Saizo said nothing, and neither did Charlotte. He wished he could see her expression from this angle. Why did he agree to having her come along?

 _Because I couldn't stop her._

He had to remind himself that Charlotte chose to come. Even if choosing to come because she cared about Saizo too much seemed, just then, an absurd reason to do anything.

"And I suppose by the plaster dust you got in from upstairs." Kotaro shook his head. "That's certainly more ingenious than the last attempt."

Saizo gritted his teeth and ignored the jab. But since Kotaro was feeling talkative… "We're here about the Black Bomber."

Kotaro maintained his composure. "I'm not sure how I can help, but I am happy to cooperate with the investigation if you'll make an appointment with my secretary. Her office hours are…"

"We know you've been working as the Bomber's go between, so cut the crap," Charlotte said.

Kotaro only raised an eyebrow. "I assume you have no evidence for such an outrageous accusation, or you would have simply arrested me."

"Hmm, not yet," Charlotte agreed.

Saizo bit the inside of his lip to keep from interrupting. He wasn't sure what she was thinking, but she was keeping Kotaro talking, at least.

"We did find your name at the NNF headquarters in connection with the explosives they've been stockpiling."

Kotaro twitched slightly at that. "Louts like that do say strange things, don't they? Not exactly reliable witnesses."

But he was feeling more defensive now, and on the verge of calling security. Saizo's hand tightened reflexively on the back of Charlotte's chair.

Charlotte appeared unfazed, shrugging. "Maybe, but is the Prime Minister back home _really_ going to care that it's not substantial enough to invite legal action against you when it comes out the NNF have been planning to blow up half the city?"

Kotaro's eyes went wide, and he fumbled trying to take a phone out of his pocket, dropping it to the floor with a loud clattering noise. "The—what?"

Saizo paused, totally lost for words. Charlotte's silence seemed to indicate she was equally baffled.

 _He didn't know?_

Charlotte recovered quickly, however. "Didn't your friend tell you? That seems a bit dangerous, doesn't it? You're the ambassador, after all, so you'd be expected to be at the coronation."

Kotaro bared his teeth, snatching up his phone from the floor. He didn't make a move to call anyone. "So there's some ridiculous plan to blow up the prince again?"

"Not quite as ill-thought out this time," she said gravely. "The NNF planned to have agents all over the city. In fact, they specifically wanted to attack the diplomats to undermine confidence in Hoshido worldwide. Maybe that suggestion was actually from their 'benefactor'?"

That was not actually what the NNF had said at all - Mikail was actually concerned about turning international opinion against the NNF and had made plans to _avoid_ the diplomats - but Kotaro turned pale. He must've already been concerned that the Black Bomber considered him a liability and would be looking for a way to get rid of him, or Saizo was sure he would've been suspicious of their surprise at not knowing he was unaware of the planned attacks during the coronation.

He seemed to turn it over in his mind for a little longer, and then he scowled and said, "Fine, I'll tell you what I know about him. His name's Iago, an agent of Garon."

Saizo's heart sank. It wasn't really all that surprising, especially with the use of the NNF, who Queen Mikoto suspected Garon was funding under the table to cause trouble. But the fact that President Garon was behind it meant this might not be the end of it.

"I don't know if it'll do you much good, though," Kotaro said. "Iago can teleport. He'll be nearly impossible to pin down."


	9. Chapter 9

Saizo was expecting a strong reaction, and urged Charlotte to go home to recover when he went to meet the prince and Kagero back at the Royal Agency. This hadn't been her plan, and he didn't think it would be fair to have her face the music with him. She must have been tired, because she agreed with only a little protest.

He wasn't disappointed on the reaction.

"You did _what?!"_ Kagero yelled, as Orochi covered her face.

Prince Ryoma's reaction was the worst - he merely looked disappointed.

"What's done is done," Saizo said.

Kagero's nostrils flared and she began to say something else, but stopped when Queen Mikoto raised her hand.

"We can discuss that later."

Kagero tilted her head in acknowledgement, but she was still glaring at Saizo. He took a step out of her reach.

"You think the information Kotaro gave you is accurate?" the queen asked.

"It fits with what we already suspected," Saizo said. He couldn't be completely certain that it was true, but he did believe it. "His surprise about hearing the planned attack on the coronation was genuine."

Queen Mikoto nodded. "This is disturbing news about President Garon, but does it change anything? The NNF have already been arrested."

Orochi shook her head, making the entire room turn to look at her. "No, I think there was something in my vision." She screwed up her face in concentration. "You said his quirk was teleportation, right? There was… something…"

Kagero took Orochi's hand and squeezed it, making her jump. But she opened her eyes and smiled briefly.

"The way the shadow moved…" Grim faced again. "I think it's him."

"This 'Iago' is your shadow of death?" Kagero said.

Prince Ryoma and the queen exchanged a look. "Should we cancel the ceremony?" she asked.

"It would just have to take place at another time," the prince said. "And he might be able to recruit more allies by then. We'll send someone to check out the location Kotaro indicated." He gave Kagero a significant look, and she nodded. "If they aren't able to find anything, we'll increase security again, but go ahead as planned.

Queen Mikoto frowned, but only replied, "I imagine that Yukimura will share your opinion; cancelling now would damage our image abroad."

Saizo had mixed feelings. Of course by any logical standard, he agreed with Prince Ryoma - it wasn't worth stopping the coronation because of the threat posed by one man. However, there was also Orochi's vision to consider. The futures she predicted could be averted, but the danger in them was very real. Of course, that was to be expected in their profession, but…

 _Charlotte._

He remembered what she'd said about attending the coronation with Siegfried, Garon's son, but that wouldn't have put her in such a dangerous position. Kagero was in just as much danger, but being a bodyguard for Prince Ryoma meant she was always at risk. Saizo accepted that like he accepted the risks to himself. Charlotte felt… different. As a hero with a local office, she probably would've been called up to be extra security for the coronation anyway. Saizo still couldn't help but feel that he was responsible for this.

 _I'll just have to trust that we can get through in one piece._

* * *

The day of the coronation was dull, with overcast clouds that threatened rain. It was not the weather than had been predicted, but it set off everyone's mood quite well, Charlotte thought. Kagero and Orochi had searched for the Black Bomber, but all they found were abandoned bases. There were enough traces to confirm that the explosives used and traded by the Black Bomber had been stored there, but the man himself and the explosives were long gone.

Everyone was nervous, even Saizo, as much as he tried to hide it. It was all the worse because they had nothing to do at the moment but wait for the procession from the palace. Traditionally, the rulers of Hoshido were crowned at the foot of the statue of the White Dragon, the mythological founder of the royal dynasty. That meant a meandering walk down from Shirosagi Castle at the top of the hill to White Square in the heart of Castletown, and Charlotte having to listen to the chatter of the other security - heroes and police alike - and the murmurs of the crowd already gathered in the square.

Benny gave her a subtle wave from the seats for the diplomats and most important guests. He wasn't completely better, but he'd still come in costume - because it was a public event, he said, but Charlotte knew he wouldn't hesitate to get involved if something were to go wrong. She hoped that Xander, sitting next to Benny, would look out for him. Xander had brought along a few handful of other heroes from the Siegfried Agency - including Peri, who got stronger by drinking other people's blood and had always been extremely creepy to Charlotte, but she was good to have around in a fight.

Kotaro was in the crowd as well, but he pretended not to know her. Charlotte smirked a little.

She, Saizo, and Rinkah were the ones assigned to the square, alongside two dozen police officers. It seemed too little for such a large, open space, but Kagero and Orochi would be joining them when the procession arrived, as well as Ryoma's siblings - all of whom had strong quirks.

Saizo was more worried about her than anyone else, which Charlotte found sweet but misguided. If it wasn't for Orochi's vision, she was sure Saizo would expect the prince to handle everything. But the square had been one of the primary targets of the NNF in their original plan; maybe this guy's teleportation quirk would let him find some way to adapt that original plan, or maybe he'd attack from a different angle.

The radio crackled in her ear. Kagero's voice sounded tired. "There was an explosion at the castle just after the royal family left. No injuries and no serious damage."

Someone else on the network let out a quiet 'woohoo' until Saizo cut them off. "Don't relax. I doubt that will be the only attack."

But there was nothing else for the hour it took the procession to reach the square.

They came in elaborate, ceremonial dress, with a seriousness that made it seem more like a funeral procession than a celebration. Prince Ryoma was in the lead, wearing elaborate red armour and a sword. Queen Mikoto and the royal siblings followed behind, dressed in relatively simple kimonos of white with gold edging. Kagero and Orochi, as well as a team of heroes and officers she didn't recognise, flanked the group.

Charlotte tensed as they approached the foot of the White Dragon statue, which had been prepared with an elegant rug and cushions for the occasion.

The drummers started up with a steady beat that echoed around the silent square. Kagero and Orochi split off from the group and took up the empty corner, to the east of Charlotte. The prince knelt whilst his siblings stood at his back. Queen Mikoto stood facing him. She reached for the crown on her head, and the music cut out abruptly when she lifted it off. Charlotte turned to catch Saizo's eye.

Then there was a deafening _boom_ like she'd been punched in the ear, and the world was fire and heat as she was thrown across the square. She skidded across the floor, taking a layer of skin off her knee and hands, until she stopped. She stumbled as she stood. Her head was ringing but she could still hear faint screaming. The square was starting to empty, people pushing past one another to escape, leaving the royal family behind.

Charlotte finally caught her first glimpse of Iago as he appeared behind Kagero, holding another crude explosive and a knife. Orochi screamed something and Kagero ducked away without even looking, meaning the knife only got her in the shoulder. Charlotte saw Saizo rushing in out of the corner of her eye, helping the royals get to their feet. Princess Hinoka grabbed Sakura, the youngest sibling, before rising into the air and flying away. Queen Mikoto was already standing; though blood dripped down the side of her face, she managed to form a barrier in front of a sluggish Ryoma as Iago threw the bomb and it went off—

Charlotte shielded her eyes from it and winced against the wave of heat. Now she couldn't hear anything at all.

 _Where next? He came from the front, the side, so maybe he'll try—_

The side _she_ was meant to be guarding. She dashed forward, hoping the lag between his appearances would be enough for her to get there in time. The air seemed to shimmer in front of her and she halted abruptly. There was a brief impression of a shattered mask and Iago's lips parted in surprise before Charlotte punted him like a football.

Her aim was perfect but Iago teleported away before he could be impaled on the statue dragon's horns. She swore, whirling around to see where he might show up next. Kagero was being carried away by Xander - _oh no, where's Benny? Please be safe_ \- whilst Orochi seemed to be helping Prince Takumi away from the square. Prince Ryoma was sat up, but he looked disoriented, and the right side of his body, including his face, was covered in an angry red burn. Queen Mikoto was checking Lady Corrin over, to her daughter's protests. Rinkah patrolled the whole area with a scowl.

Saizo met her eyes and shook his head. Charlotte wasn't sure if he was talking about there being no sign of the bomber or something else entirely, but he didn't seem to be too badly off, so that was something.

 _That can't have been it, can it?_ Her head was pounding and she felt like she was about to throw up. The ground swam in front of her eyes for a moment before she forced herself to focus. _Maybe Iago got scared from actually being hit and ran for it?_

Before Charlotte could do more than look around the square, something large and black collided with her, shoving her out of the way.

"Benny!" she cried, although she couldn't hear her own voice and had no idea if he could either.

Fire blossomed against Benny's invisible barrier. She saw Iago's frown as the smoke began to clear—

"No you bloody well don't," Charlotte snarled, rushing at Iago before he could disappear. He tried to duck out of her reach, but she grabbed his long hair and made to slam him into the ground.

He never hit the dirt because suddenly Charlotte was weightless and breathless, she couldn't see or sense anything, just something squeezing her tighter and tighter—

And then the world came rushing back in a violent burst of colour and light. Charlotte realised she was thirty feet above the ground. She shrieked as they fell and Iago pulled himself loose, vanishing again, whilst Charlotte slammed into the ground arm first. The pain made her vision go black for a moment, and when she came back to herself, Saizo was kneeling next to her.

Charlotte blinked at him sluggishly. She still couldn't hear anything and she couldn't quite read his lips. He touched her cheek carefully, like she might break, which made Charlotte scowl and force herself to her feet. Saizo reached out to steady her when she stumbled and waved an officer over to help her away from the scene.

"Wait—" Charlotte said, but she cut herself off with a hiss of pain as she jarred her arm. _Shit. I guess it's broken._

But she and the officer hadn't gone more than two steps before a wave of heat washed over her and then she was flat on the ground, trapped underneath something heavy - concrete? Spitting dust out of her mouth and ignoring the burning pain in her arm, Charlotte managed to shove the _thing_ off her. Something lurched in her stomach and when she put her hand to it, it came away slick with blood.

It wasn't just concrete - it was a piece of the white dragon statue. One of the spikes had stabbed her. The injury wasn't that deep, but it was harder than before to stagger to her feet. But Charlotte was supposed to be a hero, so she couldn't let this slow her down.

The statue had been obliterated and pieces of it, large and small, were scattered everywhere. Charlotte couldn't see Saizo, Benny, or Rinkah, but she couldn't afford to spend energy worrying about them when there were other people who needed her help and Iago could come back at any moment.

She checked first on the officer who'd been supporting her. His leg was broken but he didn't seem to be in serious danger. He waved her away, so Charlotte started checking the rubble at the foot of the destroyed statue. Lady Corrin had transformed into a dragon-like thing and was tearing through the rubble. She hooked her clawed hands over large piece of rubble and tossed it aside. Under another stone was Queen Mikoto - or her body, limp and bloodied. Charlotte couldn't hear Corrin's screams, but she could feel them through her feet.

It was obvious that the queen was dead, and Charlotte had to prioritise the people who weren't beyond help.

A burst of flame caught her eye, and for a moment her stomach dropped out from under her as she braced herself for another explosion. But nothing came, and then she realised it was Rinkah - she was okay, and so was Benny. Iago was back and he darted between the two of them, trying to get to an unconscious Ryoma.

There were fresh scratches in Benny's armour and Rinkah was limping slightly, so there must have already been some close calls. Charlotte's arm throbbed something awful, but she couldn't just leave them.

She gritted her teeth, braced herself, and leapt forward just as Iago appeared. He recognised her with wide eyes and disappeared again before she could kick him.

Rinkah shouted something. Charlotte could see her lips moving, but blood was rushing through her ears and it made no sense to her at all. Rinkah finished up by snarling wordlessly and pointing down; Charlotte ducked, and a stream of fire went over her head. She hoped the burnt hair smell belonged to Iago.

It was a confusing two minutes of constant movement, constant watchfulness, that left Charlotte dizzy and breathless. Several times she nearly kicked Rinkah instead of Iago when he vanished suddenly, and Rinkah caught the edge of Charlotte's cape with one of her fire blasts. Iago favoured knives in close quarters and without Benny putting up barriers in rapid succession, she would've been gutted several times.

Then Benny's barrier was in slightly the wrong place. Iago found a gap, took a knife, and drove it into Charlotte's abdomen just under her ribs. She didn't hear the noise she made but it must have been garbled as all the breath left her at once. He pulled the knife out, and she hunched over, feeling warm blood slip through her fingers as she put pressure on it. She glanced up and saw the glitter of satisfaction in his eyes.

Charlotte headbutted him as hard as she possibly could.

Even she heard the screech of pain he gave as his nose broke and started bleeding profusely. He staggered back—

Rinkah's fire hit him full force. Charlotte could feel the heat on her face, like opening an oven. He screamed louder, leaping back from the fire and snarling at them. Charlotte tried not to look as unsteady on her feet as she felt. Most of his hair was burned away and the skin on his head and face was blistered and an angry red colour.

Iago vanished again, and she tensed, watch for his reappearance. She counted the seconds with the blood running along the edge of her fingers and falling off as droplets. _Drip. Drip. Drip._

Nothing.

The three of them stood there, panting, choking on the smell of burnt hair.

"Does that mean he's not coming back?" Charlotte's voice sounded faint to her own ears.

Then her knees began to buckle and she nearly collapsed, only to have Benny catch her. He said something - she heard his voice - but the world was a blur and the noises made no sense. Pain was radiating out from her stomach, filling her whole body with fire.

Charlotte looked up at the sky as a raindrop hit her face. She blinked, and Benny's worried face stood over her. She blinked again and she was in a stretcher, someone was holding her hand...

Saizo was pale and there was a chunk missing from his ear. But he was standing and only looked tired, and that was important.

"You're okay," she said, relieved.

He startled at the sound of her voice and began to say something. She blinked—

* * *

Saizo put his hand on the door of Charlotte's private room, but couldn't bring himself to open it. It had been a day since the assassination, and Charlotte was still in recovery; even healing quirks couldn't work miracles against potential infections, so for the most part her stab wound was to heal naturally. The fight was over but she could still die.

 _Stabbed._ She'd been stabbed and he hadn't _been there._ And there was no reason why this should upset him so much. He hadn't been there for the white line on her calf or the burn near her right hand's little finger. He could never be there for every injury. It still mattered.

It mattered too much and he didn't want to face her because he felt that he deserved some kind of reproach for his efforts and he knew he wouldn't get it. He remembered the way Charlotte's face had softened when she saw he wasn't badly injured and then she'd just become limp and lifeless, and it was like the earth collapsed beneath him for a moment before he realised she was only unconscious.

It wasn't—it wasn't _fair._ Saizo had always prided himself on his commitment to his role, on his level headedness. He was aware that he wasn't strictly "heroic". He had only become a hero to continue working as Prince Ryoma's bodyguard; even though he found the work worthwhile, his duties to the prince were his first priority and it had taken years on Ryoma's part before Saizo agreed to put other people first when he was working with 'Raijinto'.

And now… he would've thrown all those commitments aside in a moment if it meant guaranteeing Charlotte's safety. It terrified him to have so much of himself invested in another person. Maybe this was all a bad idea, but—

"Are you… okay?"

Saizo flinched, snatching his hand back from the door. It was hard to feel that Knight… that Benny wasn't a threat when he took up half the hallway and Saizo's nerves were frayed to thin threads.

"You just, uh." Benny cleared his throat awkwardly and shrank in on himself, utterly failing at trying to look smaller. "You'd been standing there a while."

So he'd been there for a few minutes and Saizo hadn't even noticed.

He also hadn't answered. "I was… distracted."

"Ah," Benny said. "A lot happened."

That was an understatement. Queen Mikoto was _dead,_ despite all their efforts, Prince Ryoma was stable but unconscious, Kagero would need weeks to recover, and a dozen other innocents had lost their lives.

There was little that Saizo could do for them, but he still felt he ought to be doing _something._ Maybe by some miracle he'd find a clue to Iago's whereabouts and be able to bring him in, or he could look in on the progress of the NNF's interrogations, or…

But he _wanted_ to be with Charlotte.

"Um…" Benny twisted his hands together. "She doesn't like hospitals very much. So… it might be nice if you're there. When she wakes up?"

Saizo stared at him, and Benny shrank back a little. "You haven't even met me."

"Well, no, but…" He shrugged helplessly. "She's been happy. That's enough."

Perhaps it really was just as simple as that. Doing his job well left Saizo satisfied. Spending time with Charlotte… actually made him smile.

"Alright," Saizo said, and walked into her room without a backwards glance.

With her delicate features, she looked frail and totally unlike herself, bandaged and tucked into the hospital bed. Saizo pulled up a chair and, finding the pulse at her wrist, felt a small amount of tension ebb away.

 _This is where I'm meant to be._

He woke with a start to someone running a hand through his hair. Saizo sat up suddenly, making Charlotte laugh and then wince as she clutched her stomach.

"Gods, I feel like my insides got ran over."

"It was quite clean, though," Saizo said. "Missed the major arteries and organs."

"Yay," Charlotte said, unenthused. Getting stabbed was hardly a pleasant experience at the best of times. "What about Rinkah and Benny?" She frowned. "I think I asked someone this before, but I was pretty out of it. I don't remember what they said."

"Both fine. The Oni needed stitches. Knight was more or less uninjured."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "And you?"

He touched his ear with only a slight grimace. "There was a close call. But it's superficial."

"You've still got your looks," Charlotte said. "Just about."

" _Thanks."_

Silence fell. The banter felt like just going through the motions. Saizo didn't quite know how to express everything - the guilt gnawing at the pit of his stomach, that he hadn't been there; the relief that it hadn't been worse; the way his heart beat faster at hearing her voice.

"So… what now?"

"Before anything else, you should concentrate on getting better."

Charlotte fluttered her eyelashes, showing him one of the winsome looks he privately thought of as 'Maiden smiles'. It only made him more aware of how… _unwell_ she looked. "Having something to look forward to will help me cope with being stuck in bed for a while."

Saizo couldn't quite bring himself to smile back, but he laced his fingers through hers. "Well, I suppose we should… start at the beginning and see where we end up."

"Straightforward. That'll be a nice change." Her eyes lit up suddenly, bright and clear, a more natural expression that made Saizo feel at home. "Oh, I know! When I'm out of the hospital, I'll make you dinner."

"Do you cook?"

"Do I _cook_?" Charlotte grinned. "Listen, I am _the best_ cook. Seriously, I dare you to do better."

"It's not a competition," Saizo said, but this time he couldn't help but smile at her energy.

Nearly all the things they'd feared might happen at the attack had happened. They were lucky that more people hadn't died, and _he_ was lucky not to have lost Kagero and Charlotte both. Coming back from such an attack would be difficult; Queen Mikoto had been well-loved in Hoshido, not to mention how devastated the royal family themselves would be.

Just being with Charlotte couldn't make all of that better, but she could still be wonderful. One beautiful thing in a sea of bad.

Perhaps it wasn't the most auspicious start to a relationship. But it was _a_ start.

Charlotte gave him a innocent look. "We don't _have_ to compete if you're worried about losing."

"I don't recall saying that…"


	10. Epilogue

The scarring on King Ryoma's face pulled and stretched unpleasantly as he frowned. "So there's been no further progress?"

Saizo tried not to stare, but even after half a year he wasn't used to seeing Ryoma's injuries. Not that the king himself seemed to notice anymore. "It was always a longshot after so much time."

The king grimaced and began to pace. With his new position, he couldn't simply go out and investigate as he used to. He had not adapted well, particularly with Queen Mikoto's death weighing him down. Saizo tried to help by keeping Ryoma informed, but sometimes he felt that _knowing_ and having little ability to act on it made things worse.

Ryoma stopped suddenly. "How is Corrin?"

Saizo knew he didn't mean 'as a boss'. "She appears… more settled," he answered carefully. After her mother's death, Lady Corrin had run herself ragged trying to manage the Royal Agency as well as leaning on her Nohrian connections to prevent diplomatic relations from fraying further, with mixed success. She seemed to be making an attempt to balance her efforts after collapsing from exhaustion a while back. "I have a few concerns, but she's improving. These things take time."

A ghost of a smile crossed King Ryoma's face. "I see Charlotte has been a good influence on you."

Saizo scowled. Why did people keep saying this? Charlotte could be just as bad as he was! Although perhaps there was something to be said for the fact that she reserved that for people who knew her well…

"Thank you for coming," King Ryoma said, interrupting Saizo's thoughts. "I think that's everything—oh, make sure to give my well-wishes to Kagero and Orochi when you see them."

"Of course."

When Saizo left the palace, his phone buzzed with a message from Kagero.

 _I NEED BACKUP. Orochi is in a panic about the catering._

He frowned in confusion and replied, _I thought she was onto dresses now?_

 _I accidentally mentioned my cousin being allergic to shellfish so now she has to redo the entire menu. And cook it herself first. Apparently._

Saizo had to admit that he had been surprised by Orochi's… excessiveness, and Kagero had been increasingly frustrated and stressed by her fiancée's obsession with the tiniest details of the day. He wasn't sure how much help he could be personally, but he felt like I had to do _something._

 _Charlotte cooks,_ he sent to Kagero. _Shall I ask her to come?_

 _Yes! Maybe she can talk some sense into Orochi._

Saizo called Charlotte, hoping she would see the urgency of the situation. The phone picked up after a few rings, but it wasn't her voice.

"Hi," Benny said. "Uh… Charlotte's on duty until 4.30, but she left her phone at home. Sorry."

He always found talking to Benny extremely strange - he seemed to be timid about everything, to the point where Saizo had begun to suspect that it was a front of some kind. He even asked Charlotte if Benny disliked him, thinking that that would explain the awkward conversation, but she just gave Saizo a weird look and said no.

It still baffled Saizo how someone like Charlotte had become fast friends with such a timid man, but he knew Benny was important to her, so he made an effort to be friendly and to keep his thoughts to himself.

"It's not a problem. I could pick it up and meet her at the Agency."

Benny's voice sounded brighter. "Oh, that would be nice!"

"I'll be there in about ten minutes."

After an awkward exchange, Saizo drove to the Knight and Maiden Agency. The textile district was starting to look busy again. Following the attack at the coronation and Queen Mikoto's death, the entire city had been subdued - especially because Iago was never caught. President Garon's dismissive response to the attack and rumours of the NNF's involvement had increased hostility to Nohrians in the city, which was unfortunate on several levels. At least Charlotte seemed to have escaped any ill effects.

"Make sure you tag me in the photo, okay?" Charlotte said, smiling and posing with a fan. "I want to see all your friends' reactions!"

It was one of her practised smiles, even and bright, head tilted at an angle to emphasise the curve of her neck. Beautiful, of course, but fake.

The fan, however seemed satisfied and practically skipped away. Saizo supposed that was the point. But he preferred the way Charlotte's face slowly lit up when she saw him, the slightly lopsided smile. She had this habit of toying with a strand of her hair when she was excited, but trying not to show it. It had grown out again now, and Saizo could see why she liked to have it so long. When it caught the light, it had the colour of gold and it was a little enchanting to watch it sway as Charlotte walked.

She kissed his cheek, still smiling. "This is a pleasant surprise!" The smile faded. "It… _is_ a pleasant surprise, right?"

"Well, it wasn't meant to be a surprise at all, but you left this at home." He dangled Charlotte's phone in front of her.

She snatched it from him with a scowl. "Alright, Mister Organised. But seriously, _please_ tell me it's not a work thing."

Teasing her was far more fun than it should be. She was so adorable when she got flustered - not that he would say that out loud, or he'd inevitably be subjected to some kind of rant about how 'adorable' didn't sell.

"Orochi is going overboard again and Kagero asked for help. You don't have to come, but…"

"But _you_ couldn't organise a doll's wedding, never mind your best friend's." Charlotte rolled her eyes. "What is it this time? If it's dresses, hard pass. Lace and I don't get on."

Saizo blinked. "You're complaining about lace? What about that stuff you wear for your costume? You can't tell me that's _sturdy._ "

"It's annoying but it gave the look I wanted without risking catching on anything." Charlotte fingered the material of her skirt with a frown. "Anyway, I'm going to have to change it soon."

"Why?"

She gave him a flat look. "Because I have a boyfriend now."

"You know that I don't care what you wear, right?"

"Good, because I wasn't asking your permission." She rolled her eyes, but gave him a friendly nudge. "It's not _you_ , idiot, it's that people will think it's too slutty if I'm meant to be in a relationship. Disloyalty, you know."

Saizo hesitated, but he couldn't deny there was some truth to her words, however incorrect such judgment would be. "Whatever you think is best," he said eventually. "Anyway. I promise there's no lace."

"Oh?"

"Orochi is redoing the menu because there was a panic about someone's allergy."

"What? Oh, gods." Charlotte threw up her hands. "Someone needs to stage an intervention. She's going to drive herself mad, if she hasn't already."

"I think 'an intervention' is what Kagero was hoping for," Saizo said dryly. "Will you come?"

Charlotte made a small noise as she mulled it over. "Eh… fine, I don't have other plans." She gave him a significant look. "But I expect a nice dinner for this!"

Naturally, he pretended to totally miss her meaning. "That's normally the point of wedding dinners, I think."

"You—! You do this on purpose! _Ugh._ " She backhanded him playfully in the stomach. "I am sick of hearing about weddings! My dad was talking about my grandma's engagement ring that he inherited. He thinks he's _subtle._ "

Saizo shifted uncomfortably. "They're a bit keen, aren't they?"

"It would be different if it was because they _liked_ you," Charlotte grumbled. He winced. "But no, they just think you're going to come to your senses and…" She stopped. "That sounds so bad. They don't dislike you! You're just, you know…"

"Not what they expected?"

"I guess." She frowned, but shook herself. "Listen, I'll just do another sweep and then I can clock off, okay? Wait for me at the office." Charlotte reached out to squeeze his hand. "Anyway, you _know_ I have to make sure Kagero and Orochi's wedding comes off, I've been looking forward to seeing you in a tux!"

Then she smacked his backside and ran off, cackling, before Saizo had even finished choking on his own spit.

Blushing, Saizo made his way to the Agency, hoping no one had caught that on camera. _I can't really complain if she likes to tease too._

* * *

Kagero's and Orochi's flat was normally neat and calming, the neutral decor interrupted only by Kagero's bizarre art. Now it looked like a flour bomb had hit it, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt cake.

"Thank heavens you're here," Kagero blurted, pulling Charlotte into the flat with barely a glance at Saizo. "Orochi's in the kitchen."

Charlotte gave Kagero a once over, taking in the flour on her clothes and in her hair. "Why don't you sit down?" she said gently.

Kagero blinked as she watched Charlotte go. "...Was that a tactful way of saying I look like I need a drink?"

Saizo decided against mentioning the cake mix glued to her eyebrow. "I think so."

"Maybe I do." She sighed and collapsed onto one of the sofas.

The flat had been Kagero's first, and hadn't been significantly rearranged when Orochi moved in. Saizo knew it almost as well as his own place, so it only took a few minutes before they were both settled with drinks.

He gave Kagero a minute to steady herself. "So I take it Orochi has been… worse than usual lately."

"An understatement," Kagero muttered darkly. "I've tried everything! I tried offering to take over some stuff so she can focus on what she wants, I tried distractions, I even banned her from the kitchen yesterday and she woke up at 4AM to cook instead!" Her voice cracked a little on the last syllable. "She insists on doing it all by herself; she keeps saying I have too much going on with work so I shouldn't have to worry about the wedding too."

Well, Orochi wasn't totally wrong. With Lady Corrin still lacking experience at running an agency, and Saizo now splitting his time between hero work and bodyguarding at the palace, Kagero had certainly taken on a lot more work over the past few months. But Orochi wasn't _quite_ addressing it in the correct way, even if her intentions were good.

"If it's going to cause her this much stress, I'd rather not get married at all." Kagero ran a hand through her hair and, grimacing, pulled a strawberry stalk out of it. Saizo thought it was better not to ask questions. "But I don't know how to tell her that without making it seem like I don't want to marry _her._ "

"Don't worry," Saizo said, aiming for soothing. "Charlotte will talk some sense into her."

Kagero didn't seem ressured. "I don't know… Orochi just has some kind of—tunnel vision. I wonder if…"

Saizo frowned. "Wonder what?"

She hesitated, but then continued. "Orochi… feels responsible for Queen Mikoto's death. She says there's something in the vision that she didn't interpret properly. Well, I can hardly contradict her, can I? And the queen meant a lot to Orochi, all the kindness she showed her after her parents died. I think she must be using this obsession with the planning to distract herself, but I can't get her to talk about it."

"She can't put it off forever."

"I know." Kagero sighed. "I hope we're at breaking point and she's going to admit that she can't go on like this. Soon."

* * *

Charlotte wondered what it was about weddings that made people so unreasonable.

"Kagero wants something small," Orochi said stubbornly. "Just for family and close friends."

"That doesn't mean you have to do everything by yourself!"

Her words seemed like they might be having an impact as Orochi hesitated… but then she scowled and Charlotte knew they were right back at square one.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and resisted the urge to walk out. It was still pretty tempting, but she knew Saizo had been worried about Kagero recently - _and_ Orochi herself, though he would never admit that out loud. "Look, you want to make sure Kagero has a great day, right?"

Orochi narrowed her eyes, suspicious, but replied, "Of course!"

"But how are you going to get everything perfect by yourself if you can't even make a cake without burning it?"

Orochi's eyes went wide and she darted for the oven gloves. "Shit shit…"

The cake wasn't actually that bad - the edges were a little burnt and it was probably dry on the inside, but with some clever shaping and a generous layer of jam and buttercream, most people would probably never notice. Orochi, however, was clearly not experienced enough as a baker to realise this simple solution. She just stared at the cake. Tears gathered in her eyes.

 _Oh no._

"I'm just making things worse, aren't I?" Orochi said. "I just… I just wanted to do _something_ right."

...There was definitely more going on here than just pre-wedding nerves, and Charlotte was not the right person to give Orochi this pep talk. And really, Charlotte found it hard to relate. She knew the people close to the royal family had found things difficult after Queen Mikoto's death - Saizo was more like himself now, but there were still times when he would stare off into the distance, probably trying to find the magic formula that would've stopped the attack before it started. But for Charlotte… things were honestly fantastic. The Knight and Maiden Agency was flourishing, she and Benny were both fully healed and working together again, and her relationship with Saizo was going great.

Really, Charlotte had nothing to complain about at all.

"Come on, let me handle all the catering," she found herself saying.

Orochi paused in the middle of trying to dry her eyes without smudging her mascara. "What?"

Charlotte was surprised as herself, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought it was a good idea. "I'm a great cook, you know, and it's obviously stressing you out."

"You don't have to do that!"

"No, but what's the point in sucking all the fun out of the wedding before you even get to the big day?" Charlotte could see that Orochi was still hesitant, so she pulled out her trump card. "Anyway, I think Kagero might like to have her fiancée back."

Orochi's shoulders sank. "She must be so angry with me."

"No, she's just worried about you." Charlotte steered her towards the lounge. "Go on. I'll salvage the cake and you go promise to pace yourself."

Orochi paled and Charlotte had to give her a pretty good shove before she would move from the kitchen at all. Charlotte plastered on her best smile to compensate for the fact that Orochi looked like she was about to be sick.

"Good news," she announced to the living room, making Kagero jump and nearly drop her glass. Saizo was used to how much she enjoyed surprising people and only twitched slightly. "I'm taking over the catering. You can thank me later."

It was meant as a joke but Kagero looked at her as though she'd announced she could walk on water.

Orochi was silent. Charlotte subtly nudged her, and then did it again with considerably less subtlety when she still didn't say anything.

Then Orochi burst into tears and Charlotte took a step back, resisting the urge to shout, 'I didn't do it!'

"Kagero, I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I know I've just been annoying you and-"

Kagero stood and threw her arms around Orochi. "Shh. I was _worried_ about you…"

Charlotte felt very much that she was encroaching on a private conversation and retreated to the kitchen to do something with the cake. That was definitely more her thing. By the time she was finished, the heart-to-heart would've calmed down and Saizo would probably feel horrendously awkward. Well, if he hadn't turned down her cake decorating lessons, he'd have an excuse to escape now, wouldn't he? So it was really his own fault.

At least she had Benny. She'd taught him how to decorate a cake years ago, of course, and despite his enormous hands he was actually very good at it. Charlotte would definitely recruit him to help her make the wedding cake. Saizo could advise them on a theme that would be significant to Kagero and Orochi. There would probably have to be butterflies on it too; Benny loved making those…

* * *

Charlotte opened the door to find Rinkah standing on the step, looking surprisingly cheerful.

"Benny said you were doing a test run on the cake," she said without preamble.

Charlotte sighed. "Hi, Rinkah; yes we're fine, how are you?"

"But there is cake, right?"

She gave it up as a lost cause and stepped aside to let Rinkah in. "We're just doing the decoration. You'll have to wait until it's finished."

Rinkah poked her head into the kitchen, where the three-tiered cake sat, cooling. "Where's Benny?"

"We ran out of room in the kitchen so we had to take over the lounge, too."

Benny was hunched over the coffee table, delicately painting some chocolate butterflies. "Hi, Rinkah," he said absently.

Charlotte winced. _That must be killing his back._ For the real deal, she really had to get them both into Saizo's flat. His kitchen was much bigger than theirs, even though he was not a very adventurous cook. It was easily her favourite room at his place. She'd made him dinner there last week and had briefly considered never actually leaving it.

Rinkah seemed disappointed by Benny's lack of reaction, but the food won her over soon enough. She sat on the sofa next to him, peering over his shoulder with interest.

Then she snatched one of the completed butterflies off the table and popped it in her mouth.

Benny gave her a betrayed expression.

"'S good!" Rinkah said, ignoring his attempt at puppy eyes. She swallowed. "Are these meant to look real?"

"Like Monarch butterflies!" he replied brightly.

Charlotte smiled. They were some of Benny's favourites, and by sheer coincidence, the orange and black wings actually worked quite well with the settings in Kagero's tarot cards. Charlotte was hoping the addition of the butterflies and some gold highlights would help elevate Kagero's paintings from 'slightly disturbing' to merely 'quirky'. Orochi must be _really_ in love to happily hang Kagero's work all over their flat. It was kind of adorable, even if every visit to their place made Charlotte feel like some kind of eldritch horror had infected the living room.

"Won't it be a bit weird to eat them if they look real?" Rinkah said.

"Didn't seem to stop you," Charlotte muttered, but Benny was now looking at the butterflies with a slightly nervous expression. _Damnit, Rinkah!_

"How long is it gonna be until there's cake?"

"A while. I just took them out the oven, and the chocolate collar needs to set," Charlotte said.

Rinkah nodded as though this settled something. "Then let's go out for dinner and do cake stuff later."

"But I haven't finished the butterflies!" Benny said.

Rinkah thoughtfully waited for him to place the delicate butterfly decoration on the table before elbowing him. "You can't sit like that for hours or you're never going to move again!"

They'd been planning to get takeout anyway because they couldn't use the kitchen in this state, and Charlotte approved of the concern for Benny. "I can help out too," she said. "It won't take any time at all when we get back."

Rinkah claimed she knew a nice restaurant nearby, so they followed her lead, only for it to turn out that she had a reservation for three. When they were seated, Rinkah announced she would be paying so they should get whatever they wanted.

Charlotte bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Rinkah had probably always been planning to take them out to dinner as thanks for sharing the cake, but she could never actually _say_ such a thing.

Or maybe she'd just predicted Benny's protests, which took even Rinkah a few minutes to shoot down. Charlotte was always happy to receive free food and thought Benny could stand to be a little less principled on splitting the bill. Rinkah made more than both of them anyway!

Over dinner, discussion naturally turned to the wedding, which was only two weeks away. Charlotte couldn't believe the time had gone so fast. She still had to find a dress, for gods' sake! Not to mention there was supposed to be a heatwave coming and she might have to abandon the chocolate collar idea altogether. She would be _so_ glad when this was over. At least she'd only had to design the menu for the wedding dinner.

"Why aren't you coming?" Rinkah asked Benny. "Kagero and Orochi wouldn't mind."

"I'm on duty," he protested. "...And I'm supposed to visit the animal shelter in the afternoon."

Charlotte grinned to herself. They'd gotten more attention since the attempt at the coronation - not as much as Charlotte would like, but it would be a bit morbid to complain about that. They'd gotten several sponsorship deals, but Benny had been most excited about the local animal shelter, who'd meekly asked if they would consider posing with some animals who needed adopting. Not only did the photos of Benny with puppies and kittens and rabbits get their agency and the animal shelter lots of attention on social media, but it had won Benny tons of new fans. Charlotte was glad that he was finally getting the attention he deserved.

The only problem was that Benny couldn't adopt all the animals himself and he got upset about having to say goodbye.

"How is work, anyway?" Rinkah said casually. "Are you going to hire that junior or something you were talking about?"

"We're going to leave it until next year," Charlotte replied. "Give things time to settle down a bit."

"Hm." Rinkah kept her expression neutral. "If you need an extra pair of hands, you can give me a call."

Charlotte blinked and exchanged a look with Benny. "Aren't you back at the family business full time now?"

"Yeah." She didn't seem enthused. "But I can't just work with fire quirks the entire time. I'll never learn anything new."

'Working with fire quirks all the time' was kind of the _entire point_ of the Flame Tribe Agency, so something big must've happened down there. Maybe Rinkah had a disagreement with her dad?

Not that it was really any of Charlotte's business, but she couldn't help being curious. "Well, if you want a change of pace, we'd love to have you."

"Thanks, Rinkah," Benny said.

Rinkah blushed slightly and tried to cover it by scowling at them. "Anyway, you two better hurry up and eat. I was promised cake, you know!"

* * *

The day of Kagero's and Orochi's wedding turned out to be the hottest of the year. It was lucky they hadn't gone for a traditional wedding with kimonos, or the guests and brides might have melted. As it was, Saizo shed his jacket after the ceremony itself, and the celebrations only really took off in the cooler evening.

"That cake was an absolute triumph," Charlotte said.

She had to speak loudly in order to be heard over the music, although maybe she didn't need to be sitting so close as to almost be in Saizo's lap.

"It was," he agreed.

This was also the third time this evening she'd made that remark, but Saizo couldn't begrudge her. Not that he was an expert, but he knew that it had taken her (with Benny's assistance) hours to make. She'd modelled it off a set of personalised Tarot cards which Kagero had painted for Orochi when they were children. It wasn't often that Kagero was moved to tears. He was less certain of the relevance of the butterflies, but they were executed well and Orochi had made Kagero laugh by arranging some in her hair.

Charlotte grinned, clinging on to his arm. "Is that all I get?"

"It also tasted nice."

" _Saizo_ ," she whined.

He laughed and kissed her. "That's your fault for being fun to tease."

"I can still post that video of you tripping over the chair, you know."

"It's dark in here!"

She snickered and stood up, more or less gracefully. "Come dance with me?"

Saizo had never particularly enjoyed dancing, but at Charlotte's delighted smile, his reservations melted away.

As if on cue, the song ended, and something slower and softer came on. They weren't the only couple dancing; Kagero and Orochi, who had barely sat down or stopped smiling all evening, were twirling around together. Most of the attention was naturally on them, but Saizo couldn't tear his eyes away from Charlotte. She was always beautiful, but especially so tonight, in a flowing, pale blue dress that matched the colour of her eyes. The only downside was that she'd tied her hair up into an elegant bun, which meant Saizo couldn't run his hands through it.

"We should move in together," he said.

Charlotte stopped swaying to the music and squinted at him. "This feels like something we should discuss when sober."

Saizo paused. She stayed over at his flat so often now anyway, he'd kind of assumed she had been _waiting_ for him to ask. "Do you... not want to?"

"No, I'd love to."

"Then what is there to discuss?"

"Well, your appalling taste in wallpaper, for one." She raised a finger, then another. "And secondly—"

Saizo laughed and grabbed her hand, spinning her round and pulling her close. "You are absolutely ridiculous," he said. "I love you. Do whatever you want with the place."

"You might regret saying that." Charlotte wrapped her arms around his neck and beamed. "I love you too."


End file.
